KIAF SEOUL

Remus Grecu (born 1976, Constanța Romania) creates paintings that depict idyllic scenes and the radiant beauty of a central female character. They are filled with light, happiness and beautiful color through depictions of rich silk garments, ripe fruit, blue skies and snow-capped mountains. They are inspired by Renaissance paintings which have luminous color as well as compositions that combine interiors with windows onto the outside world. The woman in Grecu’s paintings is inspired by Cunégonde, a character from Voltaire’s Candide that symbolizes the ephemeral nature of youthful beauty. Grecu earned a BA at the University of Arts, Bucharest (2001) and has had solo exhibitions in Los Angeles, Bucharest, Ghent, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Frankfurt between 2009 and 2024.

Kevin McNamee-Tweed (born 1984, Stanford, California) will present a group of sixteen modestly-scaled ceramic paintings at KIAF. Images include an “all-knowing moth” with flames encircling eyes on its wings, a hand reaching for a book on a shelf, and a sun rising or sinking above a hilltop. A recurring motif in McNamee-Tweed’s practice is the room interior. In these densely filled spaces, papers, paintings, grocery lists, doodles, and notes-to-self cover the walls, while tabletops are scattered with objects, artworks, tools, books and pots. They typify McNamee-Tweed’s ability to juxtapose seemingly disparate images in a coherent and harmonious manner.  McNamee-Tweed grew up near Chapel Hill, North Carolina before studying at New York University where he earned a BFA (2008). After living in Austin, Texas for seven years, he moved to Iowa City to enroll in the MFA program at the University of Iowa where he earned an MFA (2020). He has had two recent museum solo exhibitions–Institute of Contemporary Art, Chattanooga (2023) and Greenville County Museum of Art (2024) as well as numerous gallery solo exhibitions including at Harpers Books, New York (2020); L21 Gallery, Palma (2021); Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022); Cob, London (2022); Dutton Gallery, New York (2023) and Tatjana Pieters, Ghent (2023).

Paige Jiyoung Moon (born 1984, Seoul) creates works that depict scenes of her family engaged in everyday domestic activities as well as on special road trips. Her highly detailed small-scale paintings elevate otherwise ordinary activities such as her husband working in the garden, attending a classroom art demonstration or visiting a temple in Korea with her mother to something special that needs to be remembered, preserved and cherished. Her careful details, perspective, cropping and sense of humor make the mundane special, the small monumental and the personal universal. Moon moved to the United States to study at Art Center, Pasadena from which she earned a BFA in 2012. She has had three solo exhibitions at Steve Turner (2019, 2020 & 2024) and has also presented works at several art fairs since 2018. In 2023, her work was included in Made In LA, the biennial exhibition presented at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

Augustina Wang (born 1999, New York) creates paintings that depict powerful Asian women in fantastical settings of her own invention. Inspired by the imagery of video games and the oppression historically faced by Asian women, Wang conjures up scenes with strong women seeking justice and retribution. Elegance and violence are are strange partners yet in Wang’s paintings they coexist nicely. Wang received her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design (2022). She has had a solo exhibition at Sow & Tailor, Los Angeles (2023) and has presented works in group exhibitions at Steve Turner, Los Angeles: Thierry Goldberg, New York; Sow & Tailor, Los Angeles; Vollery Gallery, Dubai and Cierra Britton Gallery, New York.

Jessica Wee (born 1988, Englewood, New Jersey) creates paintings that explore the interconnectedness of experience, memory and cultural influence. Born in the United States to Korean parents, Wee grew up in France and Canada, with a fluid sense of identity that she describes as being in between cultures. She utilizes the framework of classical still life painting to portray Asian female subjects with strength and autonomy. Her unconventional juxtapositions, dream-like and sensitively painted in oil, reflect her ongoing effort to understand her Korean-ness. Wang earned a BFA in Studio Art at Concordia University, Montreal (2011) as well as a Diploma in Classical Realism at Angel Academy, Florence (2017). She has had solo exhibitions with Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2023); Latitude Gallery, New York (2022); Spring Break, New York (2022) and has had work included in group exhibitions in Canada and the United States since 2009.