A Symphony of Color and Light
By Elga Wimmer
Serenade No.14-Harmony, 2021, 20 on Linen, 60.6×60.6cm by Soonam Kim
Soonnam Kim’s Harmonic Abstraction: Indra’s Net in Motion at Paris Koh Fine Arts, Fort Lee, New Jersey, exhibits paintings and works on paper from the artist’s series, New Symphony. In her work shown here, as in the Buddhist and Hindu metaphor, Indra’s Net, which illustrates the interdependency of all things in the universe, Kim connects the varied experiences of her art focused life with Eastern and Western philosophy.
In the paintings Serenade No 1 and Winter Serenade No 2, (oil on linen, 2021), colors dash across the canvas like shooting stars in multiple layers. Her application of color evokes the tranquil effect of an infinity pool, rendered in soothing pastel tones of green, yellow, rust red, and ivy white. Like a leitmotif in musical compositions, Kim continues her theme in Serenade No 1: Harmony, 2023, and on through to Serenade No 26: Harmony, 2025, all consecutively titled.
Circles, sparks, waves, loops in myriad configurations, like stars in outer space, boast a symphony of colors, showcasing the “empty fullness”. This Buddhist belief that there is no void, that all things in the universe are interconnected is evident in all of Kim’s work.
New Symphony No. 24: Buddha with Lotus Flower, 2022, Oil on Linen, 100x100cm by Soonam Kim
The series culminates with New Symphony No 24: Buddha with Lotus Flower, 2022, and Symphony No 27: Four Noble Truths 6, (2022). Here the use of digital pigment print on Hanji captures the light magically. Much like the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, who saw herself guided by spirits in her abstractions, Kim endeavors to combine Eastern spirituality with a Western sensibility in her visual language.
Born in Korea, Kim spent twenty-five years as a student, teacher and practicing artist in America and Europe. Then she decided to immerse herself in Buddhism, entering a temple as a Buddhist apprentice in Korea, undergoing the traditional Buddhist practice of prostrations, sutra chanting and recitation, transcription, and meditation.
In Buddhism, vocal offerings to the cosmic Dharma realms are regarded as precious, akin to the ways hymns resonate beautifully in a cathedral. Repeated articulation enhances the harmony and health of body and mind, and the pursuit of spiritual cultivation through practice.
When she returned to Korea, Kim fulfilled her dream to be ordained as a Buddhist monk. Her first task, after shaving her head, was to complete a 21-day practice of performing 3000 prostrations per day. She soon left this strict regime, however, and focused on enlightenment through eternal practice with oneself, while sharing with others how to live in perfect harmony.
The pursuit of spiritual cultivation now informs Soonnam’s practice of painting: Harmonious cosmic Dharma realm, infinite space, simultaneously empty and full. Earthly things are impermanent, changing, and devoid of fixed form. The harmonious energy in the universe and the repetition of forms is at the heart of spiritual cultivation and the essence the artist is striving for. Her paintings are an offering to the Dharma realm, a prayer, a symphony of colors and motion, and reflect Soonnam Kim’s journey as a dedicated Buddhist practitioner and a visual artist for over 30 years. The artist strives to visualize the interconnectedness and interdependence of all phenomena, both mental and physical, with a convergence of color, line and rhythm.
In Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Wassily Kandinsky expressed that art should not merely be representational, but strive to express spirituality and the depth of human motion through abstraction. Soonnam Kim captures Kandinsky’s thought in her own individual way, combining Eastern and Western philosophy and abstract painting.