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Spruill Gallery Presents Granular Landscapes with works by Soo Kim Yung and sound installations by Claire Paul
Preview: April 10 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Reception: April 11 – 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Artists’ Talk: May 11 – 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Spruill Gallery is pleased to present Granular Landscapes featuring Soo Kim Yung and Claire Paul April 11 through June 6, 2024.
Granular Landscapes features Soo Kim’s building of rich landscapes of subtle color and granular forms featured in her series Rice Cakes and the micro-sound layers of sculptor Claire Paul. The artists bring forward universal ideas and concepts through their choice of medium. Its universality considers intellectual greatness and humanity’s relationship to and reliance upon the natural elements. Gallery Director, Shannon Morris states, “The works of Soo Kim and Claire remind us that small things matter when we consider life’s larger considerations.”
As a child of Korean immigrants, Soo Kim Yung embraces the cultural clashes that often result in two countries’ customs and traditions intertwining. This body of work celebrates the making of rice cakes (tteok), passed down through generations and reflects the qualities of diligence, order, and harmony. Similarly, multi-media artist Claire Paul invites music and sound collages to inspire the content of her visual art. Her installation features granular sounds and inspired imagery.
Claire Paul continues exploring performance and process in visual art and sound. She completed her MFA in Drawing and Painting from Georgia State University (2009) and her BME in Music from Florida State University (1999). She studied with Jeff Keesecker on Bassoon and guest lectured at Florida State University in 2015 to give a Masterclass on Electronic Bassoon performance. She was awarded a Flux Project collaboration grant in 2011 and selected for an artist residency at The Atlantic Center for the Arts with Zeena Perkins and Jennifer Monson in 2017.
Soo Kim Yung
Soo Kim Yung (b. 1990) is a multi-disciplinary artist whose artistic journey is deeply intertwined with her family’s immigrant experience in the United States. Raised with the help of her grandparents, who had endured the hardships of the Korean War and witnessed their homeland’s remarkable transformation from poverty to prosperity, Soo’s work explores the power of shared experience, inviting viewers to embark on a thoughtful and culturally rich artistic voyage through her works. Her work bridges the gap between past and present, individual and collective, and heritage and contemporary life.
The process of meticulously placing each grain of rice pays homage to a time when rice was scarce. It conveys a deep respect for the struggles and resilience of those who endured such scarcity. Through her artworks, Soo hopes to capture the values of diligence, order, and harmony, creating tangible testaments to these principles.
Currently residing in Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, Soo holds a BFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and is a featured artist in the Mint Gallery’s Leap Year Artist program in 2023. Premiere galleries and institutions such as the Besharat Museum Gallery (Atlanta, GA), Mason Fine Arts (Atlanta, GA), Stay Home Gallery (Paris, TN), Swan Coach House Gallery (Atlanta, GA), Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, GA), Mint Gallery (Atlanta, GA), and Echo Contemporary Art (Atlanta, GA) feature her work.
Claire Paul
Paul was selected for two international shows while working in Greece, SEAS International Art Exhibition (2016) and RADIOMEGA Ionion Center Art Exhibition (2016), and on her return, she was invited to create a show at Kibbee Gallery in collaboration with Angus Galloway (2016).
Paul frequently shows and performs around Atlanta, including recording contributions and partnerships with other artists. In 2015, this resulted in an LP titled “Drawing Through.” She was the first musician to play the electronic bassoon at Eddie’s Attic during an open mic performance (2007) and as a collaborator in various musical acts in Orlando, Florida (2001-2003). Paul regularly presents at academic conferences and serves as a teaching artist for universities, including the Georgia Women’s Conference, Atlanta Science Festival, CCHA Conference, Georgia State University, and Agnes Scott College.
