Lel Kihm: Color Me Skeptical

Color Me Skeptical is a solo exhibition of paintings by Las Vegas-based artist Lel Kihm. Drawing inspiration from the chronicles of visual history, Kihm explores fundamental issues embedded in the history of painting and the medium's essential characteristics. Each image of the painting emerges from spontaneous free play. Every canvas is a new beginning, and each picture boldly departs from the last, all while embracing doubt.

Artist Statement

I consider myself the conduit through which my painting creates itself. Rather than pre-visualizing a specific piece, I paint to discover the outcome. I avoid getting in the way of the painting process and allow the work to manifest. Free play forms the core of my painting process, where I take risks, experiment, and embrace the potential for failure and unexpected opportunities. I am influenced by the shared memories embedded in our visual history and am interested in finding new ways of painting today. Each artist in the canon has an inspiring approach to the medium. However, I consider their strategies as open-ended questions rather than answers. I reshape my processes when I start a new work and hope my presence is not easily discernible once I am finished. Each painting is a rupture from the one that came before it. My collective body of work is a paradoxical mishmash of non-serial pieces, inviting the viewer to complete the painting.

About

Lel Kihm is a South Korean-born American artist living and working in Las Vegas. He graduated from Beaux-Arts de Paris, France, with Diplôme national supérieur d'arts plastiques (DNSAP). Recent group exhibitions include Am I Your Type and The Emotional Show, held at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art in Las Vegas, NV.

 LelKihm.com

On exhibit at the Sahara West library from Mar 1, 2024 through May 18, 2024

Reception Thursday, Mar 7, 2024 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.