The Beaufort Art Association will host an exhibition of recent paintings entitled “Perspectives” by featured artist Juliana Kim. The exhibit will open on March 31 and continue through May 10.
Juliana Kim has been reveling in the visual arts since childhood and has been able to pursue painting as a full-time career for the past eight years. Extensive travels as well as the addition of a second home in Hilton Head (with husband, Dr Sam) provide ample material enabling her to investigate the essence of space and place. Her creations are mostly landscapes, both traditional representations and abstracted conceptions. She works in watercolor, oil, acrylic and mixed media, her choice of medium depending on the subject and painting environment. She attempts to capture beauty and create beauty, while at the same time acknowledging the dualities inherent in both physical and psychological spaces. 
This need to define her space has led to an exploration of her new environment by trying to capture some of it en plein air, an excuse for meditating before the beauty of a tangerine sunset, the tidal current in the marshes or the abundance of flora and fauna visible everywhere. Water, always a source of fascination and a concern for the artist, often figures in her subject matter—both for its beauty and power and the tragedy of its pollution and waste But being new to this environment, she still looks at it as an outsider not yet inured to the other side—the effects of ubiquitous growth and the threat of God’s natural disasters, especially in the era of global warming.
Beaufort is a very special place for Juliana—a vital, exciting place in which to work, show and commune with fellow artists. A weeklong artists’ retreat on Pritchard’s Island and visits to Hunting Island have exposed her to the fragility of the barrier islands, their surrounding marshes and maritime forest, instigating a powerful artistic response. And finally, being a sailor, she loves the combination of charts, boats, the sea and an aerial view to encompass it all. It all depends on the perspective!
Juliana’s education includes a BA from Vassar in art history, graduate courses at Harvard and BU, an MBA and a 4-year studio diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. Her past experiences as museum curator, in architectural design and preservation, city planning, commercial real estate and in college-level teaching provide conceptual and relational depth to her current explorations. Juliana has a studio in Boston’s artistic center, the South End or SOWA, and is a member of several art associations in New England. Her work has appeared in solo and juried group exhibitions and is in private collections in the US and England. Here in the south, she is a member of the Hilton Head Art League, the Beaufort Art Association and the Society of Bluffton Artists. Kim’s work is represented by The Gallery in Beaufort and the Calhoun Street Art Gallery in Bluffton.
The Beaufort Art Association will host an opening reception for the artist on Friday, April 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The Gallery, located at 1001 Bay Street in the historic Elliott House, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. Also on display are the works–paintings, photography, ceramics, jewelry, and glass–of over 75 member artists. For further information please call the Gallery office, 379-2222.
