Meet the Artist: Jeannie Kim

9 hours ago

Jeannie Kim’s embroidered works are the kind that pull you in closer. Intimate, meticulous, and quietly powerful, her pieces explore the threads of memory, identity, and the complicated ways our past shapes who we become. With Kim’s work currently on view at SHAG, we caught up with her to talk about her creative practice, influences, and the stories woven through her work.

SHAG: Where are you from? Where are you based now?
Jeannie Kim: I'm from the suburbs of Chicago, and currently based in Montclair, NJ.
 
SHAG: What is your medium?
Jeannie Kim: I am an embroidery artist.
 
SHAG: How did you get started making art?
I've always been interested in the arts. I was an art history major in college and have been painting, creating comic book zines, etc. my entire life. My first career was as a handbag designer, and in the 2000s I was in a band called Fur Cups For Teeth. I started embroidering during the pandemic, inspired by other embroiderers I found on the internet and Korean embroidery techniques. It was a lovely, solitary way to create art during those strange and isolated times. Plus, I met an amazing community of embroiderers online.
 
SHAG: What inspires you/your art?
Jeannie Kim: This particular body of work is so personal, and draws on memories of my Korean-American upbringing to the early 2000s Brooklyn art and music scene, and how those experiences shaped my current identity in positive and negative ways. But specifically, my inspirations range from artifacts from my childhood home (my parents still live there) and Met Gala fashion, to Korean architecture and questionable suitors.

SHAG: What role does art play in your life?
Jeannie Kim: I live in a busy household with my husband and 2 teenage kids, so embroidery time is a luxury and my way to be me, vs. me as a mother, wife, etc. I think had I not started embroidering during the pandemic, I would've felt much more depressed and unmoored. I feel lucky that everyone in my household appreciates art and recognizes that time spent creating is necessary and worthwhile.

SHAG: Who is your favorite artist and/or artwork?
Jeannie Kim: Currently I love Kandy G Lopez's work (@kandyglopez), everyone should see her show at ACA Galleries. Also photo-realistic weaver Mia Weiner (@miaweiner). Plus a shout-out to the male embroidery community, including Adam Jon Moore (@adamworks) whose pieces I've always loved.
 
SHAG: Do you have a favorite piece of your own?
Jeannie Kim: I love these 2, some of the earliest embroideries. I consider them a bonded pair. I think they most accurately capture my vulnerability when I started embroidering. They feel shy, tentative, and more authentic than some of my later, technically superior but more confident, pieces. I don't think I'll ever be able to convey that level of honesty in this series of work again.