October 6 - November 19, 2023
108|Contemporary is proud to present an exhibition of work by Shin-hee Chin titled, Entangled Harmony. This solo exhibition will be on view from Friday, October 6 through Sunday, November 19, 2023.
Entangled Harmony visualizes the symbiotic relationship between nature and humankind, symbolizing intimate dialogues and embracing the mysterious, restorative force of nature.
Join us for an artist talk with Shin-hee Chin on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 6:00 pm in the exhibition space to learn more about her inspirations and processes. ASL interpretation will be provided.
Watch the recording here
As a person who spent half her life in South Korea and the other half in the United States, cultural context has shaped almost all of Shin-hee Chin’s work. People are typically the subject matter in her work, but settling in the Midwest changed her relationship to the subtle landscape of the Great Plains.
The intention of creating landscape is to suggest the essence, the eternal qualities of the landscape beyond reality, something sublime. It imparts the landscape with a spirit resonance or vitality. The process of making the work is a record of energy being transferred from the artist to the work.
Entangled Harmony sets out to explore the cultural and artistic encounter through a new frame of reference and aesthetic investigation.
Chin seeks to harmoniously blend music and spirituality, weaving diverse musical influences into visual compositions with a rich color palette. Her goal is to imbue both abstract and representational images and convey the interconnectedness of art, music, and the spiritual realm.
The primary medium and method for these works (fiber, thread and stitching) provide a unique agent of interpretation with their tactile richness, vibrant color, multilayered depth, as well as the complex cultural roles of this medium. By incorporating fiber, Chin converts the conventionally feminine activity of needlework into a medium for art making.
The slow, repetitive nature of stitching enables Chin to be more mindful of the present moment. She symbolically partakes in creating a new synthesis of East and West, Craft and fine art, the artist and nature, her native Korea and the American Midwest.
Thus, this project sets out to explore the potential mixtures or cultural hybridization as a representative mechanism through which the media and techniques of traditional Korean and American cultures are incorporated in new ways of art making.
About the Artist:
Shin-hee Chin is a fiber/mixed-media artist and Professor in the Visual Art Department at Tabor College. Chin’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including Washington DC, Tokyo, Hampton, Geneva, Tainan, and Seoul.
Chin’s work was featured as the cover of the Studio Art Quilt Associates Journal (Spring 2017) and the cover of Surface Design Association Journal (Summer 2014).
As an esteemed educator for 17 years, Chin has taught drawing, painting, color theory, and mixed media. She was elected as Distinguished Faculty in 2008. Influenced by feminist traditions, Christian spirituality, and Eastern philosophy, Chin has created a coherent narrative addressing the complex issues of the female body, procreation and motherhood, mother tongue, cultural identity, cultural hybridity, and sense of belonging.
This exhibition is generously sponsored by HoganTaylor, GableGotwals and the University of Tulsa’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities.
Slow Stitches Workshop led by Shin-hee Chin | October 7, 11am-5pm | SOLD OUT
SHOP 108 for exhibition works here
Read more in OVAC’s Fall 2023 Art Focus issue below: