Immigration certainly was a rite of passage for me that marked a physical and cultural transformation of my existence. When I became a United States citizen, I even had an opportunity to name myself anew, and that act of self-naming carried with it a remarkable sense of freedom and self-efficacy.
That sense of freedom ultimately led me to a profession that I never even dreamed about -career in art. Ironically, though, no matter how I believe I came away from the background of mine, when I paint, I find myself digging up some of the oldest memories of my childhood. The title of my recent show, "Mother of Pearl Armoire," refers to a symbol from my childhood when my artistic values must have begun forming. While drawing from the origin of my being, I was fascinated by the heroic, compassionate, and powerful imageries of the women in the folktales that I grew up with. The two large paintings in the exhibition depict those images directly.
About the Artist
Sumita Kim, an artist and Professor of Art at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, was born in Gwang-ju, South Korea. Growing up in Seoul with artist and journalist parents, she developed a deep appreciation for the power of art and language at an early age. In the late 1970’s she came to the United States to continue her education, and in 1982, she was awarded a Master’s degree in film-making from the American University in Washington, DC. Subsequently, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of MarylandFeatured Work
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