ARTIST STATEMENT
Clara Kim is a Korean-Canadian artist whose vibrant imagination and deep connection to the natural world have helped shape a rich and expressive body of work.
From an early age, Clara discovered that creativity could be a powerful force for healing and communication. When she experienced a period of silence after losing her mother at age 8, it was animals and small creatures that brought her comfort—and ultimately helped her find her voice again. Her creative spark only grew stronger over time. As a teenager, Clara turned to fashioning dolls and clothing as a way to express herself when words fell short. These early experiences with art as a personal refuge laid the foundation for her unique and joyful visual language. Later in life, during a long recovery from a serious car accident, Clara’s mind was filled with vivid, imaginative imagery that she translated into her artwork. Rather than dwell on pain, she chose to immerse herself in the act of creating—drawing on memory, emotion, and fantasy to develop a visual world that is playful, poignant, and full of life.
Clara’s artwork blends ancient Korean influences with contemporary Western styles, often featuring animals as symbolic, soulful characters. Her pieces explore freedom of expression through techniques like knife scratching, ink drawing, crayon, pastel, and doodling. She incorporates abstract backgrounds, dancing lines, and whimsical symbolism, always with a goal of enjoying the process and inviting viewers into that joy.
Her work has been recognized and collected by the Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa, and she has received support from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Ottawa.
Clara has exhibited widely in Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec), as well as internationally in Korea, Switzerland, and the United States—including in museum settings.
“Life may not always be fair, but there is always something to be grateful for,” she says. “Hold onto gratitude and smile with all your might—after all, isn’t it much better to live with a smile?”
– Clara Kim
https://www.facebook.com/clarakimart/ | https://www.instagram.com/clarakimart/