Nara Park
I Live
March 17 - May 13, 2021
About the Exhibition
Nara Park’s exhibition I Live incorporates sculptures and poetry that investigate our relationship to the landscape we inhabit and the imprint we leave in it when we are gone. Park often uses synthetic materials, such as Styrofoam or plastic, to create three-dimensional works inspired by sacred places, ranging from memorials to natural rock formations. Stone is often used in many cultures to commemorate the dead, as it symbolizes strength, stability, and permanence. Her use of stone implies memorialization and a desire for immortality.
I Live features a large floor sculpture, Presence V, created from Styrofoam beads, polystyrene panels, and acrylic paint. The sculpture will be paired with three new wall pieces from her Promises series made from Polystyrene foam, plaster, and stone-textured paint.
I Live is accompanied by an audio recording of Park reading her 2017 poem Promises.
This exhibition is presented in partnership with the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C.
About the Artist
Nara Park b. 1985, Seoul is a sculptor and installation artist based in Washington, DC. Park is a recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship and the Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited at numerous venues, including the Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans, LA), The Phillips Collection (Washington, DC), Grounds for Sculpture (Hamilton, NJ), the Baltimore/Washington International Airport, and American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center (Washington, DC). Her works are included in the collections of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, as well as The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. Park holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she received the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award by the International Sculpture Center and Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship. Park has been a guest speaker at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC.
