Solo Exhibition
Heejung Kim
Vestiges of Time - a Semi-Retrospective
Sept 2– 25, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, Sept 10, 2026, 6 - 8 PM
The Asian & American Art Foundation (526 West 26th Street Suite 211, NYC) is pleased to present Heejung Kim: Vestiges of Time – a Semi-Retrospective, on view from September 2 through September 25, 2026. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, September 10, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Based in New York since 1991, Heejung Kim has developed a distinctive artistic language through drawing, sculpture, installation, and artist books. This semi-retrospective exhibition brings together the selected works from different periods of her career, revealing the recurring forms, symbols, materials, and ideas that have continued to evolve throughout her practice.
Kim’s work explores the relationship between memory, existence, the everyday, and the universe. Her imagery—stars, dots, circles, eyes, stairs, bowls, ribbons, hands, and other familiar forms—draws from personal experiences, dreams, travel, and her longstanding interest in Asian philosophy. Through repetition and accumulation, these fragments are transformed into mysterious constellations that suggest both an inner landscape and a vast cosmic world.
Repetition is fundamental to Kim’s process. Drawing thousands of dots, sewing, stitching, and carving become meditative acts through which she records time and experience. Her works therefore function not only as images, but also as traces of time—the physical remnants of countless moments of concentration, memory, and reflection.
Kim’s interest in Tibetan mandalas and Buddhist symbolism has further shaped her understanding of interconnectedness and the unseen. Yet rather than illustrating religious ideas, she creates a personal visual vocabulary in which ordinary objects and intimate memories are transformed into universal forms.
Across her career, Kim has continually moved between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional, from intricate drawings and one-of-a-kind artist books to sculptural and installation works. In her recent pieces, carved wood, drawings, pins, and countless dots expand into space, suggesting stars emerging from material surfaces.
Vestiges of Time is not a comprehensive retrospective, but a selection of significant works that traces the continuity and evolution of Kim’s artistic journey. Together, the works reveal how images, memories, and ideas accumulated over decades continue to reappear, transform, and connect—like points in a constellation.
Heejung Kim was born in Seoul and has been based in the New York area since 1991. She received MFA from Stony Brook University and MA in Art Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and Korea. Her work has been featured in ARTnews, The New York Times, The Star-Ledger, and Design NJ, and is held in collections including the Princeton University Art Museum and the Asian American Art Centre. Kim currently teaches studio art at Raritan Valley Community College and William Paterson University.