k-art in nyc
Dare to cross the in-between with Leekyung Kang.
Leekyung Kang’s first experience in NYC came when she took a summer course at Columbia University in 2014. She later attended graduate school in Rhode Island, frequenting NYC for various art exhibitions and events during her studies. Rather than viewing her residence in NYC as an achievement, she prefers to focus on the incredible ways in which the city’s sense of community and solidarity fuel her creative energy and continue to make her stronger.
Leekyung attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Morgan Library to research ancient relics and historical references. In doing so, she satiates her desire to explore how civilizations have developed unique visual languages to represent spiritual traditions, ritual ceremonies, and unseen human passageways between life and death.
Inspired by the ancient burial chambers of East Asian murals, Egyptian deities, and the spirit of scientific discovery, she creates liminal hypothetical spaces where Eastern and Western cosmologies converge with contemporary astrophysics. More specifically, she navigates how Eastern concepts such as han (persistent emotional energy) and gi (vital essence) parallel the Western understanding of dark matter, the substance that comprises 85% of our universe while remaining undetectable through direct observation. Through cross-cultural techniques combining traditional pigments, mixed media, and LED kinetic installations, Leekyung’s fluid brushwork merges with cosmic microwave background radiation maps, Taoist yin-yang cosmology dialogues with quantum field diagrams, and Celtic sacred geometries intersect with gravitational lens photographs and particle collision traces.
Having recently concluded her solo exhibition entitled Entombed in Static, and currently a member of the Bronx Museum’s 45th AIM cohort and Keyholder residency artist at Lower East Side Printshop, Leekyung aspires to open up even more in-between spaces going forward, fostering intercultural exchange in Asian diasporic and Western contexts as she goes.
