BIO.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, artist Nana (Kim Hwanhee) graduated Bachelor of Arts (2003) in Paintings and Master of Arts (2004) in Fine-art at Chelsea college of Art & Design, University of Arts London (London, UK). In 2011, she moved to Helsinki and graduated Master of Arts in Photography at Aalto University (2014). Her works were shown at Gallery Jinsun Book-cafe (South Korea, 2008), Hippolyte Gallery Studio (Finland, 2013), Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale (Greece, 2014) and several group shows and festivals in Europe, Australia and South Korea. She was also awarded Young Artist Awards (Nuorten Taiteilijoiden Apuraha) from Finnish Art Society (Suomen Taideyhdistys) and also Highly Commended prize from The Woollarha Small Sculpture Prize in Australia in 2015.
She has 8 years of experience in teaching building Artistic Portfolio and Group Critiques in Art & Design and has been for 10 years working as a freelance art translator for, such as Photography Cooperative Space 291, Residency Changdong and Goyang at the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in South Korea, and recently completed a book translation, Photography (12th Edition) by Barbara London et al.
Since 2013, she has been actively working as part of Korean-Finnish artist duo NANA & FELIX.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The matter of image, two dimensional, its rectangular output (hardcopy), be it on paper, canvas or screen, has been the center of my entire visual studies. Over the last few years I have engaged in this mater by exploring the physicality of painting in its two/three dimensional rectangular structure and the materiality of printed photographs.
My main practice includes two-three dimensional assemblages and drawings. “3 : 2” is a series of small object-sculptures made out of found snapshots. Inspired from electronic visual displays, “My Office Machines” is a series of hanging sculpture made of enamel paint poured on certain shapes that resembles some parts of office machines. “Sweatshop For Paintings” is a series of cube canvas applied with enamel or acrylic paint. “Fake pictures” is a series of budget experimentation on tactile visuals and the frame.
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She is currently based in Helsinki, Finland.
