KOMELIA HONGJA OKIM 김홍자 (金弘子, USA) :
Professor Emerita Metal Art, Montgomery College, Rockville, MD (1973-2014)
Komelia Hongja Okim was born in Seoul, Korea and educated in both Korea and USA. She has BFA from Ewha Womans University in Fiber, Seoul, Korea; BA Fiber & Metal & MFA (Metal Art: 3-Year Terminal Degree), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
She came to America at the age of 21(1961), and got married to a Japanese student from Okinawa (1963) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Has a son (1970) married to a Chinese daughter-in-law (1973) from Philippines and has three grandchildren (2001, 2003. 2012).
As a Korean-American artist and educator over 45 years, she has attained Professor Emerita in Metal Art from Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland. She conducted workshops, lectures, and seminars in many parts of the world: Arrowmont, Tennessee; Penland, No. Carolina; Haystack, Main; Brooksville, Connecticut; Peters Valley, New Jersey; New York City’ 92nd Street Y, NYC in USA, including universities, museums, cultural centers in Canada; China; England; Japan; Norway; Republic of Korea; Russia; Thailand; & Taiwan.
As a three-time recipient of the Fulbright International Scholar Grants for Teaching & Research to Republic of Korea (1982, 1994 & 2015). She has deepened her knowledge and understanding of the cultures, traditions, and aesthetics of her native Korea and the new homeland of USA.
As she has studied and shared her teaching and researching on the Western Metal techniques along with the Traditional Korean techniques, her creative work and professional capability have blossomed with richer concepts and expanded ideas. Her work integrates different cultures, ethnic orientations, and philosophical views. Her inspiration comes from various images of people, landscapes, and cultures in both contemporary as well as historical settings.
She has held 30 Solo invitational exhibitions internationally, including one person Exhibition at Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii. Many of her works are centered on multiple topical themes as suggested by the inviting galleries. These experiences gave her enormous freedom and unusual opportunities and media for expressing or expanding on the subject matters, concepts, technical applications and expansions.
Since 1985, most of her work have highlighted and featured the Korean Traditional Metal
Techniques: including 24k gold application on silver (Keumboo), Korean Damascene inlaying, outlining, Sumac Ottchil lacquering on many of her works.
Okim highlights the images of people, landscapes from the sky, cultures, along with historical Korean motifs. Her unique creative work is centered on ‘The Eastern Thoughts based on the YING YANG Principles of Dualism’ as she balances concepts and ideas approaches toward life and her creative ideas spring from her daily and professional endeavors.
Okim’s works are in collections including Victoria & Albert Museum, UK; Korean National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art; The Seoul Museum of Craft Art; Honolulu Museum of Art; MAD, NYC; Racine Museum of Art; Renwick-Smithsonian Museum of American Art; National Metal Museum; Sonny Kamm Teapot Foundation; and more.
She is author of Korean Metal Art: Techniques, Inspiration, and Traditions, Published
April, 2019, Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-7643-5779-4.
김홍자 :
그의 작품에는 자연과 인간의 조화를 통한 잠재된 에너지의 통합이라는 주제가 일관되게 흐른다. 기법적으로는 한국의 전통 금속 기법인 “쪼음,” “상감” “금부” “옻칠” 등을현대적 표현에 도입하여 동서양 문화의 접목을 이룬 작가로 평가받는다.
이화여대를 거쳐, 인디아나 대학교에서 학사, 예술석사를 받은 김홍자는 지난 50 여년간작가 활동 뿐 아니라 메릴란드의 몽고메리 칼리지 교수로 후학을 양성했으며 한국과 미국의 문화 교류에 끊임없이 노력해왔다.
지난 2016-17년 그는 풀브라이트 국제교류학자로 한국, 일본, 미국내 박물관들을 답사, 고대로부터 현대에 이르는 한국금속미술 연구작업에 몰두하여2019년, 미국에서 총 417페이지에 달하는 방대한 학술서적, Korean Metal Art 를 출간하였다. 이 책은 한국내외최초로 한국 금속 미술의 기법을 체계적으로 정리, 집대성했으며 전통을 이어가고 있는 장인들과 고전기법을 창작에 응용한 현대작가 작품들을 소개하였다.
