Prints, installation exhibit to examine social media impacts

The exhibit of prints and installation art titled “I am dreaming of …” by Eunkang Koh opens Tuesday, Feb. 22 and runs through March 17. A virtual tour and artist’s talk will be held Sunday, Feb. 27 at 6:45 p.m. on Zoom at https://lasierra-university.zoom.us/j/97139912130

“Artist Eunkang Koh will be presenting an exciting visual exploration into the unique world of social media and its impact on our visual culture and how we eat and think about eating,” said Gallery Director Tim Musso, an art professor with La Sierra’s Art+Design department. “Viewers will be challenged by the subject matter as well as by the brilliant installation-based sculptures.”

Exhibit art works consist of prints done in relief, intaglio, and screen printing, some combined with sewing and embroidery to make soft sculptural pieces as well as other materials such as aluminum trays, tracing sheets, and thread products, says Koh in an artist’s statement.

The installation art in the exhibit portrays how viewers of social media peer through digital windows at stylized images of food and find in such passive viewing a level of satisfaction. Print works are influenced by Korean myths and cultural stories and incorporate exaggerated hybrid images of human and animal figures playing with foods such as popsicles or huge limes. 

The works in the exhibit were created during the seclusion of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Food is an expression of culture, and in the art of Eunkang Koh, she celebrates the pleasures of food with wit and a sense of mythic mischief,” writes artist and essayist Gary Brewer. “It is with a light touch, a wink and a smile that these images engage our imagination. … The use of animals in myth is a universal metaphor that we see in every culture, and Koh uses her animal characters freely. They are playful and humorous but also contain layers of meaning and touch deep realms of the psyche in all of its complexity, almost like totems of different states of consciousness.”

Koh earned bachelor and master’s degrees in art from Hong-Ik University in Seoul, South Korea, and a Master of Fine Arts from California State University, Long Beach. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Koh’s work has been reviewed by many arts industry and news media outlets and has been exhibited in numerous solo shows in Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Oregon, Canada, Belgium, South Korea and Spain. She has participated in group exhibits around the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, China, and Brazil.

To make an appointment to view “I am dreaming of …” at Brandstater Gallery, or for additional information please contact Tim Musso at tmusso@lasierra.edu. Visitors to the gallery must observe university pandemic protocol including the wearing of face masks indoors.