A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T‍ ‍

Rooted in the landscapes of Jeju Island and shaped by migration to California, my work unfolds as layered abstractions where childhood memory, cultural heritage, and spiritual presence intersect. A return to South Korea during my MFA, while caring for my father, reawakened recollections long set aside and deepened my engagement with meditative, process-driven art-making.

I work with Hanji, traditional Korean mulberry paper, drawn to its translucent, fragile, yet resilient qualities. Through layering, tearing, and marking, I build surfaces that reveal and conceal, allowing each piece to emerge gradually.

Grid structures, inspired by Agnes Martin, guide the layering of color and paper fibers, while Kim Whan-Ki’s dot paintings inform a rhythm of slow mark-making and contemplative reflection. These influences shape my approach to humble material, repetitive process, and spiritual presence.

Blues and greens evoke the landscapes of Jeju and the California coast, connecting memory and experience, while soft yellows suggest quiet spiritual renewal. Through the interplay of material, color, and process, my work traces the rhythms of transformation and reflection, creating spaces where East and West, past and present converge.

P R O C E S S

My process begins with an acrylic ground and measured grid, establishing rhythm, balance, and visual tension. Within each grid, I layer water-soluble oil pastels, exploring chromatic relationships and building optical depth.

Hanji is torn to correspond with the grid, lightly stained with diluted acrylic, and kept moist so pigments engage with the underlying layers. While the paper remains wet, I scratch and mark the surface with graphite, tracing a ritual of attentive persistence and resilience. This repetitive act becomes a quiet, meditative presence—a dialogue with time and space. It evokes childhood recollections through the colors of nature in Jeju and California.

Inspired by Joomchi, a traditional Korean paper layering technique, fibers, pigment, and gesture coalesce, producing subtle relief, shifting light, and contemplative depth. Each work becomes a quiet record of experience and renewal, where material and surface harmonize to embody the passage of time.

B I O G R A P H Y

Korean American contemporary artist Sophia Kim Reeves explores the interplay of memory, experience, and presence within the Korean diaspora. Born on Jeju Island, South Korea, and now based in Riverside, California, she creates layered abstractions that weave material, color, and faith into textured surfaces—spaces where personal history meets questions of belonging, resilience, and spiritual reflection.

Working with Hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper), graphite, oil pastel, and acrylic, Reeves employs a slow, meditative process of layering, tearing, and marking. Through this practice, fragile materials become vessels for childhood recollection, cultural experience, and quiet renewal.

Reeves earned her MFA in Visual Arts from Azusa Pacific University (2025) and has exhibited across Southern California, including the solo exhibition Light Shines Through (Heritage Gallery, 2025), and group exhibitions such as Threshold (OCFA Showcase Gallery, 2026), Stations of the Cross – Raised from the Dead (Mariners Church, 2026), and Waves (SOLOSHOW Gallery, 2024). She serves as Community Art Director at Onnuri Church in Irvine and is a juried member of the Los Angeles Art Association and the Orange County Fine Arts Association. Her work is held in private collections throughout Southern California.