ELEVEN ELEVEN

Chinatown Soup is delighted to announce Eleven Eleven, the second solo exhibition by Clare Kim at Soup Gallery, on view from January 11 - February 4, 2024.

Departing from her previous explorations of personal memories and irreverent idol worship, this series marks a shift in both medium and theme, decoding intimate moments of presence. The compositions are characterized by psychedelic depictions of the natural world and its inhabitants both real and imagined, paralleling and undulating across paracosmic landscapes that traverse desert, forest, and celestial biospheres.

Inspired by the significant role Clare's two cats, Bubbles and Beans, play in her life, her latest body of work is a calling to understand how the spirit world imprints upon the mundane aspects of domesticity for those with eyes to see. Following a string of transformative experiences, including moving in with her partner, adopting two feline companions, embarking on camping adventures, and seeking a spiritual dimension, Clare presents a collection of 16 acrylic paintings and graphite-colored pencil drawings produced over the past year.

While Clare never considered herself outdoorsy until recently, her newfound appreciation for nature and its mysteries has become a central focus. The realization that trees communicate with each other is one example of the artist’s reverence for the miraculous world around us—a chain of synchronicities continuing despite imbalances and suffering.

Through her art, Clare creates scenes that blend familiarity with divine light, portraying a harmonious and interconnected perspective through which everyone and everything coexist as One under the sun. Two cats cradle a moon, pairs of eyes part clouds, and Venusian figures bow toward one another, suggesting that it’s 11:11 somewhere and time to acknowledge what is felt beyond seeing.

Clare Kim (b. 1996, Maryland) is a self-taught artist based in Brooklyn, NY. She completed the Soup Studio residency in 2022 and had her debut solo exhibition at Soup Gallery. Clare has participated in a number of group exhibitions, including at Studio 9D, New York, NY; HBX, New York, NY; Land to Sea, Brooklyn, NY; and Chinatown Soup, New York, NY.