Jinhee Kim's 'Drink Water' Exhibition at No. 9 Cork Street Features Bold Paintings of Mundane Life

Jinhee Kim's exhibition 'Drink Water' at No. 9 Cork Street in London presents paintings that capture ordinary daily scenes with striking visual intensity. Running through 21 September, the show features works from 2024 where monochromatic, androgynous figures engage in activities like shopping or lounging, often returning the viewer's gaze. These characters, depicted with short bobs and round breasts, inhabit stylized Pop interiors rendered in eye-popping colors and bold contours. In 'At the Supermarket', a mint-green figure clutches a yellow shopping trolley while reaching for a frozen pizza under pale blue freezer light. 'At the Bar' shows a match illuminating one figure's face as they ignore a martini-sipping companion, staring coolly outward. Kim's settings, such as a neon-lit train carriage or a staircase with striped wallpaper in 'Beer Right after...', provide angular, theatrical backdrops. The paintings draw comparisons to Beryl Cook's bulbous bodies and the socialist realist style filtered through Jimmy DeSana's postmodern photography. Titled 'Drink Water', the exhibition suggests a search for commonality in moments of repose, with figures appearing both unthinking and observed. This preview is part of the ArtReview Korea Supplement, which highlights contemporary Korean art with support from Korea Arts Management Service.