Read about Olivia's research and development of body movement in figurative sculpture, drawing and painting.

Heal Thyself (ceramic) (Photo: Olivia Kim)
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Olivia Kim works on Golden Morning (glass and gold Heal Thyself (ceramic) Inner Sun (lead crystal and gold leaf) Out of the Abyss, using the artist’s childhood friend Balance (cast glass on gneiss, ruby)
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Olivia Kim's earliest memory, back in her native Philippines, was the moment she knew she'd be an artist.

"I remember being on this cement porch outside," she said. "I still couldn't speak yet and was probably less than 2 years old. I remember sitting there and all of a sudden getting all these kinds of sensations and images of what my life would be like. I had this early on, knowing I was going to be an artist. It's very weird. It's a nonverbal memory, and deeply ingrained, but that's why this whole art thing has gone forward like a highway truck."

That "whole art thing" has propelled Kim around the world—to Panama at age 16 where she worked on her Spanish and saw ancient petroglyphs; to Peru, on a solo trip at age 17, to seek out the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu; to the Philippines and Italy. Along the way, she studied art, made art, met a stone sculptor in Italy who would change her life.

Her parents had paved the way. They founded their own jewelry business, the Paper Bead Company, using up-cycled magazine paper, and they opened Archimage gift shop in 1983 with Kim's aunt and uncle. The eclectic store, on Monroe Avenue, is a Rochester institution—one that taught the young Kim that "it is possible to make and sell handmade work through craft shows and shops. My parents showed me that you can figure out how to solve a problem as you go along and come up with wonderful solutions."


ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
Rochester Magazine

One of Kim's sculptures, "Heal Thyself," is now part of a collection of 200 pieces owned by Rochester art collector Dean Spong. A new exhibit, Body Norms, comprising 18 ceramic sculptures by area artists from Spong's collection, will be on display until March 11, 2016, at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo.

You can admire Kim's work, but to hear about the constant study, travel, fear and discovery that helped forge it is to appreciate the intangible elements of art.

Here, Kim describes the long, continual exploration behind her art:

"As a child I was interested in world cultures from reading ancient myths and legends. At The School of the Arts in Rochester, where I attended middle and high school, there were students of different racial backgrounds. Being friends with various social cliqúes made me happy to learn about how special each way of life could be. The biggest motivation to travel was to experience art and world cultures firsthand.

What I found is that artworks have a presence that pictures in books or posters don't have. I was drawn to architecture, feeling what it was like to move throughout a space. Sculpture had to be seen from different angles and in different lighting to be appreciated. My body's relationship to a sculpture was the initial experience, which changed and developed into more subtle impressions.

Colors seen in person were very different from what a camera captured. Paintings felt like more than just an image and had presence that can't even be described.

“I remember sitting up at the Temple of the Sun on my 18th birthday, watching the sun come down on the Andes Mountains.”
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I spent various amounts of time in different countries, from a week to years. At 17, I went by myself to visit Macchu Picchu. I was interested in the subtle energies of Macchu Picchu and, believe me, they are real. A curious thing happened while I was there. The Incans spoke Quechua, which is not Spanish, but somehow I could understand them anyway. This taught me that people communicate on a level that is deeper and more direct than words. I remember sitting up at the Temple of the Sun on my 18th birthday, watching the sun come down on the Andes Mountains.

Later I spent around nine years studying and making my artwork in various parts of Italy. While studying at the Florence Academy of Art, I visited parts of Italy, Greece, England, France, the former Czech Republic and Russia.

When I was making my bronzes in Carrara, Italy, I met a stone sculptor who became my fiancé. Life in Italy with my fiancé was wonderful but actually quite stressful. I realize in hindsight that I was suffering from culture shock.

I was learning Italian by listening to the people around me, mainly my fiancé. Not being able to understand the language at first felt isolating. In the meantime I was struggling to do art commissions, getting used to rural life in the mountains and developing my own artwork. It felt terrifying, and yet the period made me grow quite a bit. I felt a lot of anxiety and frustration, which eventually forced me to look at the causes of fear.

My fiance, Dario Tazzioli, was the first person I had met in a long time who seemed open and trusting. It felt like the hard, protective solitude I maintained in art school could flow out of my heart, and the simple part of me could be open again. We talked about art, shared our diverse approaches to life, and worked on art commissions.

“Life was simple and empty, which made for a great internal space to work.”
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We showed our work in European art galleries. I wanted to see if I could make it as an artist in Italy. Indeed, it was doable. The Appenine village where we lived was Dario's hometown of Frassinoro, and I was always treated very well by everyone. Life was simple and empty, which made for a great internal space to work.

But eventually, something was burning in my heart—the desire to create a new voice for my sculptures. In Frassinoro, I spent three years making a leaping sculpture of a childhood friend, Melinda Phillips of Futurpointe Dance in Rochester (Out of the Abyss, aluminum and steel, 2007), using anatomy books, video and photo references. I did this while doing commissions and teaching art, which was taking up too much of my energy.

I needed a period to focus on the study of movement.

So I decided to move back to Rochester to regain some perspective and to study body movement, which was an unknown direction for me.

Four years ago I opened a studio in the Hungerford Building in Rochester. Since then it has been another whirlwind to build a solid studio, research human body movement and develop techniques in bronze and glass casting. I must have participated in at least 12 different shows and exhibitions locally and internationally.

I've made some sculptures of people doing common and dance movements. Recently I've worked with members of FuturPointe Dance and Natalie Rogers-Cropper of Garth Fagan Dance to learn about different types of contemporary dance movements. I would like to study world dances from indigenous to contemporary for starters. Then somewhere along the line I want to get into sports and compare everything with everyday movements. I've been finding that even the simplest gestures affect us psychologically, physically, emotionally and vice versa.

There is something intriguing to this that I want to explore."

For more, go to oliviakimstudio.com.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center (1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo; 716-878-6001, burchfieldpenney.org) has a permanent collection with works by more than 800 artists connected to western New York.

In addition to the Body Norms exhibit there, Kim's work will appear in the 10-Year Anniversary exhibit at Ock Hee's Gallery: (2 Lehigh Street Honeoye Falls; 624-4730, ockheesgallery.com).

Interview begins at 14:27 min.

Host Michael Warren Thomas from "Discover the Fingerlakes" radio program on station WYSL 92.1 FM

Hear why I make figurative sculpture...

Check out my work in the July and August 2016 editions of American Art Collector Magazine in print and webzine!

Live One-Hour Interview on Radio Program "The Graphic Ear"
Radio Station, WAYO 104.3 FM:
Hosted by Sabra Wood, March 2016
This program will be focusing on the music and dance involved in Olivia's creative process for her upcoming body of work.

At times Fagan's dancers seem to inhabit a world of animated sculpture. This is especially true of my favorite Garth Fagan Dance works like his 2009 world-premiere, Mudan 175/39, and in the newer piece No Evidence of Failure from 2013, which features Fagan dancer Natalie Rogers-Cropper. So it's no surprise to me that a now iconic phrase danced by Rogers-Cropper in No Evidence of Failure has been depicted in sculpture by area artist Olivia Kim.I am a big fan of Garth Fagan's choreography mainly because of how it makes me feel, but when I stop to analyze what I love about his work, aside from the incredible interplay of movement and music, I think it is the sculptural quality of his work.

Natalie is the subject of the exhibition "The Dancer & The Shadow: Unveiling of Sculptures of Natalie Rogers of Garth Fagan Dance" by sculptor Olivia Kim, which runs November 8 to 22 at the Ock Hee's Gallery in Honeoye Falls, New York. For more about the exhibition, go here.

When I first saw No Evidence of Failure, I empathized on a visceral level with Rodgers-Cropper simultaneously poised for action as she napped on her arm - seemingly recharging for the next thing on her long to do list. I am sure the complexity of the life Natalie Rogers-Cropper portrayed first in the dance and that is now expressed in Kim's sculptures will resonate with many women. Both the dance and sculptures help to reveal the ordinary as heroic because they appraise the value of our contributions in life as more significant than they often appear reduced to the smaller frame of each day, act or individual role we play in life.

For purchase details, please contact Gormleys Fine Art directly.

Video: Olivia Kim Sculpture Artist

featuring new art made by 30 artists! Debuting a new piece- “Ever Shifitng" in cast glass
ART | "Photographs Re-Imagined"
By Rebecca Rafferty @rsrafferty
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It's no secret that many artists are inspired by the works of other artists; some creators learn to create through imitation. But what happens when an artist uses a single artwork as thematic or aesthetic inspiration for a new work? Through March 28, Spectrum Gallery (100 College Ave.) will present "Photographs Re-Imagined," a collaboration between Rochester Art Club and Arena Group. For this show, 30 artists who work in various media each created a work based on a photograph from "the essence of another creative piece of art, a photograph," per the provided statement. Each of the muse photographs, selected by Spectrum Gallery director Bill Edwards, were assigned to artists in a lottery process.

The Spectrum Gallery is free and open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Ten participating artists will speak at the gallery each week (on March 13, 20, and 27, at 7-9 p.m.) about the processes they used to make the inspired artworks in the exhibition. Pictured is the glass sculpture created by Olivia Kim, inspired by a photo montage by John Solberg. For more information call 461-4447 or visit spectrumgalleryroc.com.

Read about John's recent collaborative photography project on the Neighborhood of the Arts of Rochester, NY. He brings up interesting insights on capturing sculpture through photography. His photo montage of "Ever Shifting" is the present cover of my website.

A fresh voice for modern dance! Check out this Rochester-based dance group. The Futurpointe dance company graciously posed for many of the sculptures from the "Being" show. Their choreography is taking them to local, national and international venues.

40 years of breakthrough Modern Dance choreography by Garth Fagan. Mr. Fagan has graciously given his permission to sculpt one of his principal dancers, Natalie Rogers in the signature pose from his recent work, "No Evidence of Failure." Natalie Rogers, Bessie Award winner, is generously giving her precious time to pose for this sculpture. Our collaboration as model and sculptor will create a new inspirational piece. The unveiling of this new sculpture will be November 2014 at Ock Hee’s Gallery. Dates to be announced.

The location for my upcoming show "Being" which opens Oct. 26th, 2013.
Opening reception Oct. 26th, 2013 from 12-5pm. Come see a special live performance by Futurpointe Dance at 1pm!

Check out the Spring and Summer 2014 Studio Classes and Workshops on the Rochester Art Club website.

A wonderful photographer whose recent collaboration has produced the postcard images for the "Being" solo exhibition, and photo montage "Ever Shifting." You can buy his recent photographic book on Neighborhood of the Arts artists of Rochester, NY where myself and artists such as Lynne Feldman and Richard Margolis are featured.

article from "Stop and Smell the Roses" arts and culture blog

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011

Olivia Kim: Where her HeArt is.

Olivia and I have nurtured our friendship since we met at the Florence Academy of Art (FAA) in 2004 (siesta moments along the Arno River!). She has one very beautiful yet complicated mind...and this is what I most admire about her, thus inspiring me to share her masterpieces accompanied by her deep-seated feelings, emotions and fears with you.

On your struggles + fears as an artist:
I'm sure this is a clichè, but dealing with myself is the biggest struggle. Art reflects directly what is inside of you. You can't make anything without revealing how you perceive yourself and the world. If you carry fears inside, you see every single one of them come out. So you have to be brave enough to know yourself and work beyond your fears. I’ve recently realized that my greatest fear was not knowing where my life, much less art, came from.

On Constellation:
I feel that we are linked to all things, even space. I remember reading that the elements which compose the starry heavens are on this planet, and are even part of our physical make-up. I used to wonder about what is out there, and what it's like on other planets. I thought it would be fun to defy gravity with a study of a man jumping, but launching himself backwards.

On Out of the Abyss:
Out of the Abyss is pretty important to me. It was my first attempt to really move out of Academy-style studies. I used to be a slave to models and it was so important to be able to render the person exactly the way they were. The only thing is that the models were almost always uncomfortable because they had to pose still. I found that you have to sculpt them moving in order to capture what is truly fresh and living about them. I spent about 3 years between various commission works to study anatomy and the model’s quality of movement to be able to finally finish the sculpture. The time I had finished it coincided with one of the most difficult periods for me as an artist. It was when I finally realized the answer to my great fear as an artist and person.. Where does art and my life come from?

Why the varying styles? What goes on in your head?
In general, I like to leave spaces between the modelled pieces because it's like the space within and between our atoms.. I think it's important to remember that there is much of our make-up that is not defineable. The varying styles in my work come from changes in my working method. As for the more recent work that is sculpted from moving models, I am keeping my work sketchier to explore the rhythmic quality in material application. Movement inspires different kinds of touch, densities, rhythms. I am doing different kinds of studies to inform my work. Yoga and Chi-lel (Chinese form of movement somewhat similar to Chi-gong) and physical training...I find that the body has to understand the movement in order to sculpt it. I tried to understand intellectually but to no avail. The mind cannot understand body consciousness.

And what about your "emotional moments" while sculpting?
This was quite an incisive question for me.. I find that emotions are meant to be felt and lived out. When I'm emotional I can't work because I'm living out my emotions. Most of the time I get emotional before working on something. It's like a violin string getting tuned to the highest note it can take, but then when it's been played, the tension breaks loose and I get into a different kind of groove..a working groove that's very different from emotional episodes. I can get emotional when I try to anticipate and I get fearful. If I get blocked up in the fear, I have to stop working and feel out my emotions til I’ve processed what it is that is stopping me.

Does your creativity get affected depending on where you are...do you find more inspiration when you're in the rolling hills of Tuscany vs. working at home in Rochester?
Another incisive question! Contrary to previous belief, the place is a factor, but essentially the inspiration comes from inside of me. I've fought with that question for so long! I recently found out that a table with some tools in the basement are more than enough! You can find beauty in anything, anywhere.

Please consider donating to have Olivia make a bronze Frederick Douglass sculpture for the newly made Frederick Douglass Rochester, NY airport. The not-for-profit Rochester Community Television is raising $250,000 for Olivia to make a bronze and to install an educational display at the airport. Your donation and positive thoughts count!