Genie Ghim: Crossing Boundaries Exploring Transnational Art and Tradition

In this episode of Slant podcast, host Dana Tai Soon Burgess delves into the world of transnational art with Genie Ghim, a fine artist and expatriate from Washington, D.C. Genie's journey from Seoul, Korea, to various regions around the globe has deeply influenced her artistic practice, which spans contemporary screen prints, paintings, sculptures, and laser-cut plexiglass. Join us as we explore how Genie's transnational experiences inform her work and enrich her understanding of regional art history, shedding light on the interconnectedness of art and cultural landscapes across borders.

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Transcript

Dana 0:27

Welcome to slant podcast. This is your host, Dana Tasson Burgess. This podcast is an ongoing conversation around the Asian American experience through the lens of artists and luminaries. Thank you for tuning in. Today's guest is Genie Ghim. Genie is a fine artist who was born in Seoul, Korea, and currently lives in Washington, D. C. Transnational experiences of residing in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East collectively inform her practice of creating visual art forms. Her works bridge various mediums, most recently contemporary screen prints, paintings, sculptures, and laser cut acrylic. Jeanne holds a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art. from the American University in Washington, D. C. Her work is currently on exhibit at the American University Museum in the Katzen Art Center. Welcome, Genie. I'm so glad that you're here joining us today.

Genie 1:29

Oh, me too. It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Dana 1:34

I'd like to start at the beginning to understand how an artist's perspective and aesthetic were formed. How and where did you grow up?

Genie 1:43

I was born in Seoul, Korea, and my parents immigrated to the U. S., the Washington, D. C. area, when I was a toddler, for my father to attend graduate school. My father was an economist and my mother was a fashion designer. She was very creative and my father was very practical.

Dana 2:12

And so was your mom your mentor in a way?

Genie 2:15

In a way, we were always surrounded by fashion and pretty things in the house and creativity. So I really enjoyed that. And it's always been a big part of my life.

Dana 2:29

Hmm. And how were you originally drawn to art and its practice?

Genie 2:36

Growing up in the Washington, D. C. area, my earliest memories Are of creating art and visiting the east wing of the National Gallery of Art, which is still one of my favorite places where I go to get inspired while I'm living in D. C. During my formative years, I often visited the museums on the National Mall and as a teenager, I grew up in the punk rock hardcore scene of D. C.

Dana 3:06

Hmm.

Genie 3:07

And so I have to say, during my formative years of growing up in the D. C. area, the hardcore punk rock scene in the museums. Influenced me greatly.

Dana 3:17

Oh, interesting. That's great. What was the punk rock scene like that you were part of? Was that sort of the black cat and those clubs that existed then?

Genie 3:32

Yes, it was a very unique edgy time back then there was the original 930 club.

Dana 3:39

Oh, that's right. The nine 30

Genie 3:42

no longer exists the original one and then there was D. C. space that corner location hung jury these were much more intimate venues. Very edgy and gritty. So I think it was a very special time in DC's modern history.

Dana 4:02

And how did that influence your work being immersed in this? edgy punk rock scene.

Genie 4:09

When I meet with other artists to discuss my work, I find that my peers often call me a non conformist. It's something that's innate, that's always going to be within me, I realized. I'm always exploring, willing to take risks with my work, and I'm always trying to elevate my work, so I don't like to hold back, and I'm not afraid of trying new techniques or new materials, which I find very exciting.

Dana 4:43

Hmm. What an interesting dichotomy. That's fabulous. In many ways, you're a citizen of the world, not just one specific place, because you've lived in many countries and your work has been influenced by many cultures from different regions of the world. Can you tell us about your journey?

Genie 5:01

When I reflect on my work as an artist, a reoccurring theme in my work is cultural synthesis. I found that depending on where I live in the world, what region, which country, I become inspired, influenced, and drawn to researching. That particular art history of that region and the current art scene, and I found that I formed this kind of synthesis of cultures in my visual narrative. Of my art. In East Asia, I lived in Seoul where I was born. When I was in my 20s, I lived there for a few years and I studied the history, the culture, the language, and celadon ceramics and calligraphy. When I was living in the Middle East, in Doha, Qatar, and Dubai. UAE. I became fascinated with the traditional art techniques of that region geometric design, Persian miniature painting. I feel fortunate that I've lived in Islamic countries where I was exposed to that culture and that belief system which is. Found in their art and architecture, and I've also experienced and been immersed in Buddhist cultures where that also affected me deeply and I grew up in Christian culture. these different belief systems are about the self and others the community. recently had a piece called Displacement in a show here. It was curated by the Glenstone curators. And the theme of the show was building a caring community. That's what I've found in these different belief systems. Thanks. It's about the other, the self, and the community. I've been living in the U. S. the past few years since the pandemic, and I've been drawn to researching pop art, that originated in the U. S. and the U. K. from the 60s and 70s. So I find that with this diverse broad Perspective and research that I've done that all of these are within myself and the best way for me to express that is visually. In my art, I find that the geometric design, which I was fascinated with in the Middle East, still is apparent in my pop art that I'm creating today.

Dana 7:46

When you think about all of the different regions of the world that you've lived in and landing in those regions as an outsider versus an insider, how has that Shaped your work,

Genie 8:03

yes, that's such an amazing question, because when we do arrive in a new place as an outsider me, personally, I found that being an artist Was very helpful for me to become welcomed, or to become a part of that particular community in a new region or new country. Being an artist, I was able to meet other artists. Who were very open to opening up their creative environment and creative community to me. I think artists are, we're just creatives are naturally drawn to each other, regardless of language or culture.

Dana 8:45

Do you speak multiple languages?

Genie 8:49

I don't speak multiple languages fluently, but I've made the effort to study and learn different languages. So while living in Korea as a young adult, I immersed myself in trying to learn the Korean language. I still don't feel fluent in Korean., it may sound funny, but when I speak Korean, I speak Korean with an American accent I studied Spanish and I tried to learn Arabic, but luckily in the Middle Eastern countries that we lived in English is used By everyone do you speak multiple languages, Dana?

Dana 9:30

I think that we're very similar in a sense in that I speak You know, conversational components of different languages. And so I think part of that, it's interesting, is very much part of the Asian American experience, isn't it? This kind of place where the ability to completely communicate across borders through a language might not be present, but as an artist an artistic aesthetic communicates beyond borders.

Genie 10:03

Yes, I agree with you. I think that's why my visual narrative is so important to me.

Dana 10:11

Yeah, I can totally see how it it is your language and by sharing it in an exhibition then other individuals are allowed in to that conversation. I recently viewed your latest series of works at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center here in Washington, D. C., and the works are beautiful. They're bold and precise. Will you tell us about these works?

Genie 10:36

In my aesthetic, I love to use vibrant colors, vivid shapes, bold visual messages. So I have five of these introscopic satellite rondos the round collection, the series, and the background is made of an untreated raw birch wood panel 36 inches round the bold forms and vibrant colors are made of laser cut acrylic, so it's a synthesis. I find using the two materials, it's an intersection of tradition with the untreated wood and innovation with the high tech laser cut plexiglass.

Dana 11:24

Hmm. When I was viewing them, I almost felt as if they were a modern form of calligraphy, that somehow they were expressing a universal language that was really like speaking to me. And can you tell us about that?

Genie 11:43

Yes, I love that you said that often when I'm asked, what does this mean and it is my own language, because as an expatriate, I've been immersed in different cultures and different languages. All of this together has evolved. into my own abstract language.

Dana 12:06

When you think about being Korean American, where does that part of you show up?

Genie 12:14

Oh, in the vibrant colors that we were talking about earlier.

Dana 12:19

They reminded me of the traditional Korean silk.

Genie 12:23

I actually have a painting called Sek Dong, and in the peninsula of Korea, when you go to visit the Buddhist temples, you'll find these very bright, vibrant colors as well. I think that there must be something about that in my Korean American. Background.

Dana 12:41

And traditionally, each of those colors represents something, whether it's happiness or good luck or good fortune, right? So somehow maybe those are ingrained to all of us who are Korean American and recognize those colors. As an Asian American woman, do you feel that there are certain pressures from curators that people are looking for a certain aesthetic right now? Or do you feel that the Field of art is opening up to understanding the diversity of the Asian American experience in diaspora.

Genie 13:19

Oh, yes, I do believe that. My current research, which I've recently started, is the Diaspora of Korean artists from 1995 to 2025. The global influence of Korean pop culture, with K pop, K dramas, K beauty, K food With that comes Korean art as well. And there's the Busan Art Fair in the south and the Seoul Art Fair, it's really opened up to the international viewer, international audiences and collectors. So I think it's a very exciting movement that's happening now in the art world. And The DC area, I found that there's so many diverse themes that curators are looking for When I first moved away from DC to New York City to go to school because there wasn't that much of an art scene here in DC at the time. But moving back here when the pandemic started, I've been so pleasantly surprised to meet gallerists. And artists, curators, the art community here, the art scene is thriving here, and it has been for the last 10, 20 years, I think it's also a very exciting time to be in the DC area art scene because it is emerging very quickly

Dana 14:58

which inspires you more color or form?

Genie 15:03

I'm inspired by both equally, and it's such an important part of my practice. I'm very drawn to creating these new forms and shapes that don't exist conventionally. And the vibrant colors the vivid colors. I'm very drawn to that and I need to have those in my daily life.

Dana 15:27

I really enjoyed how the cut prillic which is so contemporary juxtaposed to the pale wood, which seemed so natural and had a primordial quality to it, and yet you merge these two things together. And so how is it that you're viewing these two elements working together and at the same time contrasting?

Genie 15:52

I love the design, the aesthetic of these two materials together, the tactility, the materiality, the specificity of using, the man made acrylic and the natural wood. I love to play with words and phrases. And I really enjoy the interplay, the humor that can be found in playing with words. I'm continuously looking for materials and ways to evolve and elevate my work.

Dana 16:31

I really enjoyed how you draw the viewer in as well, because in the particular pieces that are playing with words I noticed that you could also see the reflection of yourself within them, right? Because of the material and it's being like a mirror in a sense, or a highly polished metal.

Genie 16:53

Yes. So my phraseology is a deconstruction of the meaning of the self and the other. With those words, I'm deconstructing the phrases, and I really want to encourage the viewer or draw the viewer in to question their preconceptions and their perceptions.

Dana 17:19

Oh, I can totally see that. Definitely. And what's a material that you'd like to start working in that you find fascinating at the moment?

Genie 17:30

Oh, that's a very good question. With my recent work, I experimented with laser cut acrylic, which I found very successful in achieving hard edge. Design and using the bold colors with clear lines I want to elevate this work even further by working with mirrors and metal. I'm very excited about that now.

Dana 17:57

I love how there's a certain luminescence that occurs with the cutting of the acrylic around the edges. It almost glows, doesn't it? Has a life of its own.

Genie 18:08

It does. Certain colors in the acrylic looks like it's alive. I'm really enjoying that aesthetic and I find that bright, reflective look, it's also evident in certain metals, which I'm really excited about exploring now. Mirrors are. Reflective and When the viewer is gazing into the mirror they see the work and they're also looking at their own image, questioning themselves, which I think is very intriguing.

Dana 18:42

For you, what is the role of the subconscious versus the conscious world

Genie 18:50

Oh I think meditation is a big part of my life. And I find that this helps or works together with my creative process. I feel more in tuned with myself and what I'd like to create. I think That way, I'm able to gather what inspires me or influences me, what I'm compelled to create, what kind of visual communication that I want to share with the viewer. I'd have to say artists are deconstructionists of meaning. Since art is a visual language, there's so many interpretations that can come from just like one piece of art, which is something that inspired my Interscopic Satellite Rondos that you saw in the museum. Before that started, I was thinking a lot about ways of seeing for example, you and I, everyone, we could all be looking at the same object or the same visual, but we're all having our own unique individual experience.

Dana 20:01

Depending on sort of like what has happened to us within our lives, right? And how we're interpreting and perceiving the world.

Genie 20:08

Exactly. From our own experiences, our own preconceptions, our own perceptions.

Dana 20:17

Definitely. What would you say to an aspiring visual artist, to someone who's young, who's trying to and find their own aesthetic and move forward in a field that's very competitive.

Genie 20:32

Oh, what I usually say is just be yourself and don't give up. Just keep expressing yourself and if this is your dream, keep working on your dream and don't stop, continue to create and share your art. Can be very intimidating for young or new artists to actually share their work.

Dana 20:55

It's very vulnerable place.

Genie 20:57

Yes.

Dana 20:59

And what's next for you in terms of thinking about a new body of work and where should we look for that new body of work?

Genie 21:10

I work with a couple galleries here in Washington, D. C. There are a couple upcoming shows that I'm involved with Transformer D. C. They're celebrating their 22nd year in D. C. with an exhibit this summer in Bethesda, and it's called Artists Supporting artists where established artists we're offering our work to the gallery to support emerging artists. So, I'm very excited about this initiative and so I'll continue showing my work here and for my own personal research what I mentioned earlier we talked about the diaspora of contemporary South Korean art and artists within that 30 year period that will be my personal research. very much.

Dana 22:09

Great. Great. Genie, thank you so much for joining us today on Slant Podcast. We wish you the best of luck in the future with your beautiful artwork.

Genie 22:20

Thank you so much for having me, Dana. It's been my pleasure.

Dana 22:24

Thank you for tuning in today. Please rate the podcast on your listening platform and tell your friends. Feel free to contact me at slantpodcast. com. It's always great to hear from you, our listeners. A special thanks to our sponsors, the Dana Tassun Burgess Dance Company, the Cherry Blossom Giving Circle, and the Deddy Liam Gunawan Hickory Legacy Fund.