Desire
Exhibition in WNC’s Bristlecone Gallery

Eunkang Koh said, “My recent work responds to lifestyles and thinking processes that are often ruled by consumerism.” In her Desire exhibition for the Capital City Arts Initiative, Koh presents sculptures and prints laced with diversity and humor.

The exhibit is open to the public May 15 – September 14, 2023, Monday through Friday, 8am – 7pm, in Western Nevada College’s Bristlecone Gallery, 2201 W College Parkway, Carson City. Visit the gallery over the summer and then return on Tuesday, September 5, 5pm – 6:30pm for the artist’s reception; the artist introduction is at 5:30pm.

Koh noted, “In my artwork, I draw from the human circumstances that flourish between reality and perception. Born and raised in the Korean myth culture and adopting Buddhist philosophy, I assume that the world we are living in is not real but is an illusion that we perceive. I doubt that there is anything like truth in a concrete sense. I aim to create my own illusion in my art. My images are my way of seeing the world without pretense.”

Often using half-animal and half-human figures in her artwork, she said, “Those hybrid creatures represent portraits, humans as social animals and the society that we live in often expressing the absurdity of the human world. They portray ironic gestures that create a mixture of humor and grotesqueness, reflecting life in our society.”

Koh feels that her recent work responds to lifestyles and thinking processes that are often ruled by consumerism. She talks about her creatures as “a portrait of us, humans who reside in this illusionary world created by our own systems.”

To show the mass consumer culture where humans live in today’s contemporary society, Koh employs different types of printmaking techniques incorporating other media such as relief, intaglio, screen printing, as well as digital processes, and new technologies like laser cutter and 3D printer that she combines with sewing, ceramics, bookbinding, etc. She also experiments with human-made materials such as plastic boxes, vinyl sheets, and paper bags, products that symbolize our micromanaged and controlled society.

A native of South Korea, Eunkang Koh received a B.F.A. from Hong-Ik University in Seoul, South Korea, and an M.F.A. from California State University, Long Beach. Koh has also participated national and international group exhibitions in Canada, Spain, South Korea, China, and New York City. Koh has been invited to artist-in-residencies including Northern Ireland, Belgium, China, India, and Berkeley, California.

Koh is an Associate Professor in printmaking in the Art Department at the University of Nevada Reno.

Josie Glassberg wrote the essay for the exhibition — available online and in the gallery. Glassberg is a freelance writer whose work has regularly appeared in Double Scoop Art News, the Reno News & Review, and Fibonacci magazine. She attended St. Olaf College for printmaking and enjoys writing about art in the West when she’s not busy with her main gig as a garden teacher.

Carlos Ramirez, a Western Nevada College Latino Leadership Academy student, provided a Spanish translation of the show’s wall text.

Western Nevada College is a component of the Nevada System of Higher Education, with campuses in Carson City, Douglas County, and Fallon. CCAI is an artist-centered nonprofit organization committed to community engagement in contemporary visual arts through exhibitions, illustrated talks, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online activities.

The Initiative is funded by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, John and Grace Nauman Foundation, Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, Carson City Cultural Commission, U.S. Bank Foundation, Kaplan Family Charitable Fund, Southwest Gas Corporation Foundation, Steele & Associates LLC, and CCAI sponsors and members.

image, right: Doughnut Dreams; 18″x 24″x 4″; screen printing, sewing, relief, aluminum tray; 2021
image, left: Watching, installation view, detail: 120″x120″x120″, relief printing and fabric, 2021
image, center: Desire exhibition flier