Jiha Moon: Chasing Spirits

June 7 - August 14, 2021
Inside the Arts LIVE Gallery Talk: June 8, 2021, 6 - 7 pm
RECAP//Virtual Gallery Talk

Korean-born, Atlanta-based artist Jiha Moon juxtaposes Eastern and Western cultures through an exploration of imagery that ranges from historical Korean iconography to contemporary American pop culture. Within her paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, Moon combines layers of images such as dragons, birds, flowers, tigers, bananas, Indian Gods, fortune cookies, and peaches to address the idea of a global society. Moon states “I am a cartographer of cultures and an icon maker in my lucid worlds.”

Global identity is an important theme for Moon, as is popular culture, technology, racial perception, and folklore. Moon’s work is layered with wit and irony, while presenting the viewer with a serious commentary on the way Western culture labels Asian Americans. The peach, which became the focus for Moon’s exhibition, represents many different ideas throughout Asian culture. They are a sign of longevity and happiness, while simultaneously symbolizing the warmth and vitality of spring. In Asian culture, peaches are believed to repel ghosts, while they also represent Moon’s current home state of Georgia. Moon's work explores both sides of her identity forming one unique and singular voice.

Jiha Moon earned her BFA at Korea University and her MFA at Ewah Womans University, both in Seoul, Korea. After moving to the U.S., she completed two additional master’s degrees, an MA and MFA, at the University of Iowa. She has participated in artist residencies at The MacDowell Colony, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and the Singapore Tyler Print Institute through the Asia Society. She was the recipient of The Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptor’s grant in 2011. Moon has exhibited at museums and galleries all over the world including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Laney Contemporary, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, High Museum of Art, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, and many more.

Special thanks to Jiha Moon, Laney Contemporary (Savannah, GA), and all the lenders to this exhibition. Thank you to our UAB Visual and Performing Arts members and all supporters - without you this exhibition and programming would not be possible.