Hiejin Yoo
The Recovery of Openness, Intimacy, and Trust

Fredric Snitzer Gallery is pleased to present, The Recovery of Openness, Intimacy, and Trust, Hiejin Yoo’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Included in this exhibition is a selection of paintings chronicling Hiejin’s experiences, focusing on the day-to-day in contemporary life.

Yoo’s paintings are an intimate journal that mediates on self-discovery. They grow from journal entries and the world around her. Each painting contains information (color, gesture, objects) that reminds her of these personal experiences. The canvas narrates an anecdote Yoo wants to convey, often zooming in and cropping the parts that she does not deem necessary. These fragmented memories often encompass her remarkably intimate perception of these moments and give the viewer a window in which to see into them. Her use of color within the work captures the feelings of her experiences she paints from. This ambiance of a specific space in time is key. Using flashes and oils, She creates simple and subtle changes using different physical textures resulting in calm atmospheres; this surface, an abstraction of the memory in a certain frame of mind.

Yoo expresses contemporary life through the figure and interactions among surroundings; ordinary objects used daily, and the familiar human form. Choices in different scales and multiple perspectives push the figure outside of the pictorial frame, never fully revealing the figurative subjects within.  

Hiejin Yoo is a German born, Korean artist currently living and working in Los Angeles. She received her MFA from University of California, Los Angeles. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Greece, and London.  Recent notable exhibitions include Early 21st Century Art at Almine Rech, London; SEED at Paul Kasmin, New York; and Quotidian, Half Gallery, New York.