▲ Artist Aeran Kim

Artist Aeran Kim, who enrolled in Hongik University in 1978 and majored in Western painting, was fascinated by dyeing yarn, and her professor suggested hand-woven fabric. However, she was unable to pursue the labor-intensive work on large frames. The only memories of this time are of her work and her regrets. 

Regaining health and dreaming new dreams again

“As I got married and raised children, my relationship with hand woven fabric became more distant. But I was reminded of it a lot. The pieces I had left behind were highly prized by a Japanese collector I connected with two or three years ago, and thankfully, he loved them and said they were special and unusual pieces” says Kim. In 2022, she suffered a stroke. Now that she’s recovered, she’s rediscovered these works through a letter of a professor at Gyeongju National University, with whom she had a chance encounter. “One morning, my professor wrote and sent it to me, and when I looked at my artwork in my living room, I felt courageous again. I was filled with the desire to pass on to someone the artwork that I had spent so much time and thoughtfulness creating. I would love nothing more than for my paintings to reach people who will cherish them.”

A lifetime of service

When she was in her 50s, she did volunteer work for foreign workers living in Korea and was interviewed by a famous daily newspaper. In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, she personally procured masks for those in need in Japan and received a thank you letter. She is still sharing her warm heart by participating in the ‘Sharing Table of Love’ event held every week in Gwacheon. “I feel so good after volunteering in Gwacheon. Every Friday morning, I wake up at 7 am and head from Ilsan to Gwacheon Horse Racing Park, filled with happiness. I would like to donate the proceeds from my work to the Gwacheon ‘Sharing Table of Love’ activity. I would be very happy if I had value to someone and could share that value. In the future, I would like to continue activities that can provide more help to children who grow up in difficult environments, such as single-parent families” says Kim.

She also talked about collector Adrian Cheong, who officially launched the ‘K11 Foundation Seoul Corporation’ in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul early this year. Adrian Cheong is the third-generation successor to the Cheong family, one of Hong Kong’s three largest conglomerates, and is also known as a major figure in the art collecting world. “I saw an interview with Adrian Cheong, who is growing cultural infrastructure through collaboration with various local artists. I really liked his values, which advocate art that can be incorporated into everyday life and enjoyed by everyone. Above all, I thought that I was a person who loved and cherished works, and I hope that my work, which contains the soul of our country’s hemp, will reach a collector like Adrian Cheong” says Kim.