Illusive Moon
March 1—April 19, 2024
Rivalry Projects is thrilled to present a solo exhibition of new works by New York-based artist Myeongsoo Kim (b. 1980, South Korea). Join us for an opening reception on First Friday, March 1, 2024 from 5:00-9:00pm. The artist will be present for the opening reception as well as a conversation about their work on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at 11:00am.
Drawing upon the perceptive phenomenon that renders the sun and moon the same distance from earth, Illusive Moon utilizes landscape photography – celestial and earthly – to consider ideas around physical and emotional distance, isolation, time, and memory. Kim uses a medium-format Fuji camera to capture images of the sun, moon, and vast landscapes, such as volcanoes in Iceland, the dusty earth of the American Southwest, or the urban expanse of New York City. These images are then incorporated into custom sculptural displays, made from hardwood, metal, graphite, and found objects, or, in other works, reformed as collages that collapse our understanding of place.
Captured in the spring of 2023, when smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the northeastern United States in a dense, alien haze, Untitled Landscape with Sun, Bird and Three Dots, depicts a blood red sun on a gray horizon. While the sun is in sharp focus, the city is a blurred suggestion interrupted only by what appears to be a power line. The shift in focus probes our understanding of distance, which is further distorted by a tiny gold bird that rests on the surface of the image.
Throughout the exhibition, and the many geographies present, Kim draws the viewer in close to ask - where are we, what do we see, and how do we see it? The works project a palpable stillness that creates space to question our relationship to place, time, illusion, and the emotions that this discovery evokes. Illusive Moon will coincide with the 2024 solar eclipse, during which Buffalo is on the path of totality. All photos courtesy of Artist and Rivalry Projects, Buffalo, NY.
