featured artists

erased but not forgotten

Danni Kim’s paintings invite viewers into a space where movement, memory, and abstraction converge. Resembling the spontaneous scribbles of a child, her works may seem chaotic at first glance, but on closer inspection, they reveal a delicate balance between freedom and control. The interplay of lines and colors evokes shifting moods and energies, offering viewers an open-ended experience rather than a fixed message. She values the ability of art to challenge conventions, allowing the imagination to wander without the weight of rigid interpretations.

Living in Irvine, California, while frequently traveling between South Korea and the United States, Danni is deeply attuned to cultural contrasts and shifting perspectives. She first approaches a painting with oil pastels or oil sticks, only to erase parts of it with white oil color. This process, layered with repetitive sequences of drawing, erasing, and redrawing, creates a visual depth that reflects time and memory. The marks left behind, the traces that refuse to disappear completely, hold a particular honesty. They remind her that no matter how much we try to erase the past, it remains embedded in our experiences.

For Danni, abstraction is not about distancing oneself from reality but about moving closer to it. She sees abstract art as a means of understanding objects, events, and emotions at a fundamental level. Just as language once felt like a series of symbols and codes to decipher, her paintings contain hidden layers of meaning that emerge over time. In moments of creative uncertainty, she allows the painting itself to guide her, waiting for the moment when past experiences transform into something poetic.

Her artistic philosophy extends beyond the studio. She believes that encountering diversity, whether cultural, emotional, or artistic, allows for a deeper sense of freedom and generosity. Through exhibitions, especially those supporting community causes like California wildfire relief efforts, she has witnessed the power of art to foster solidarity. Viewers bring their own experiences to her work, sometimes seeing something completely different from what she intended, and at other times resonating with her emotions in surprising ways. This dialogue between artist and audience, between memory and erasure, is what gives her work its dynamic and evolving nature.

Rather than offering a singular interpretation, Danni Kim’s paintings invite viewers to experience their own narratives, making space for both presence and absence, clarity and ambiguity. For her, art is not a fixed result but an ongoing process that leaves room for uncertainty, discovery, and the quiet, lingering echoes of the past.

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