After forty years, and Illinois State University graduate and acclaimed artist Wonsook Kim has returned to campus to share her work in a new exhibition, and to lend a hand to the next generation.
The exhibition, Lines of Enchantment, combines the newest works of Wonsook Kim, along with many of her earliest creations. Curated by Barry Blinderman, the collection of figurative prints, drawings and cast bronze currently on view at the University Galleries is what Kim calls a dream come true.
She arrived at ISU from her native Korea in 1972 and went on to achieve a BA, MA and MFA from the School of Art. After moving to New York, Kim soon found success, and with that came the desire to give back. The Winsook Kim Art Scholarship was created with the hopes that Kim could enable other ISU art students to dream big, just as she did. Kim's desire to create started in childhood where, in a family full of musicians, she struck out on her own to create visual art. She credits ISU art professor Harold Boyd with giving her the encouragement she needed to pursue her own creative vision.
"At that time, in 1972, color field abstraction was at its peak and a lot of people were doing that and so did I because I thought that was art with a big 'A'," explained Kim. "What I did with the figurative work is something I did like doodling or keeping a diary. But I was very fortunate to have a teacher, Harold Boyd, who noticed my doodling and he encouraged me, saying that that was my art. And I didn't think I could do it. Doodling isn't serious. Art is serious. But with encouragement like that, it was really a fertile place for me to find my voice and continue."
After finding success, Kim decided to give back to her alma mater, creating the Wonsook Kim Scholarship Endowment, to help young ISU students just as she was helped as an undergraduate. "I received the Elizabeth Stein Award in 1976 and it gave me a little push. I came to a point that I could help out, so that was a real blessing."
