Chung-Im Kim is an artist, designer and educator living near Cookstown, Ontario. Born in Korea, Kim taught Textiles at both Seoul Women’s University and Induk Institute. She also worked as a freelance designer in Korea producing surface pattern designs for fabric as well as a series of children’s magazine illustrations before she immigrated to Canada in 1990. Following her arrival Kim became a resident in the Textile Studio at Harbourfront Centre from 1998 till 2001, and has since maintained an active studio practice: executing numerous private commissions.

Chung-Im Kim silkscreens prints onto industrial felt pieces, hand-stitching the felt to create dimensional wall sculptures that seem to sway – creating an illusion made even more convincing by the combination of surface pattern and clever stitching. Chung-Im Kim was struck by the unique quality and rich potential of this relatively unknown material. The more she engaged the more she became attached to this material, and continue to explore it’s flexibility, shape forming ability, and forgiving nature.

Typically, Chung-Im Kim approach to surface embellishment is based on a strong response to the character of the material itself. Ramie and hemp were widely used in Korea in earlier times for clothing and bedding in summer because of their natural coolness and subtle paper-like quality. The unusual stiffness of these materials has allowed Chung-Im Kim to revisit her textile heritage in a more playful, collage-like manner in some cases.