eunice kim

Artist Statement

Curriculum Vitae

Biography

About the Medium

Eunice Kim works exclusively in the printmaking medium of collagraphy, a process in which materials and textures are adhered to the plate surface, inked, and run through an intaglio press with paper for transfer of image. Kim takes a beautifully restrained approach to the collagraph by choosing to work only with very small dot-like marks created with modeling paste and meticulously positioned on the plate single mark at a time. She then carefully shapes each individual dot to height and contour optimal for printing. She says she relies heavily on her sense of touch during this critical stage, since the dimensional differences of tiny dots are almost impossible to discern by sight alone.

Plates are then printed intaglio technique, where ink is forced into areas between the dot marks in relief and plate surface, wiped clean, and printed with damp paper for reception of ink. She adds: "Resulting impressions are tactile yet highly nuanced, as the process makes possible transfer of boldest to the most subtle of my marks onto paper. In addition, this way of working gives me results only printmaking as a medium can. The impression is not the thing itself. Rather, it is memory of what was there and that to me, is particularly interesting."

Another technique Kim utilizes is chine collé. The process incorporates thinner, more fragile papers into the printed image by backing it with heavier support paper. Kim enjoys the warmth and depth chine collé brings to her work. "I can introduce another layer of color," she explains, "without compromising the clarity and crispness of my marks."

Kim prints her work in variable editions where each image is unique and variations occur from impression to impression. She notes, "Whether it be investigations in color or varied approaches in inking and wiping, the plate, or the matrix, serves as a format within which I can fully explore the imagery. Also, unlike in other traditional printmaking techniques, collagraph plates in my particular process have a limited life span as the modeling paste marks flatten out with subsequent inking and passes through the press. It gives me great pleasure to follow each plate through its life cycle, with earliest impressions bold and saturated; latter impressions subtle and subdued."