Erin Fostel, Judith Watches Over, Charcoal and graphite on Rives BFK, 29’x39’

Erin Fostel

A native of Baltimore, Erin Fostel is known for her renderings of hyperrealistic black and white charcoal drawings. In the Women’s Bedrooms series, Fostel explores the private and interior narratives of women in the world of the familiar and ordinary. In her portrayal of one’s most intimate space, Fostel sincerely records the delicate wrinkle of a pillow to an ornate headboard and all other details with honest precision. While Fostel’s work surveys women’s emotional and psychological sphere bound to the space they inhabit, build, and leave behind, the quotidian objects in these American vernacular scenes invite the viewers to inspect often overlooked aspects of our most ordinary experiences. 

“I developed an interest in acknowledging the resiliency required in rebuilding one’s life and wanted to display the value of sanctuary within the home. I focused on the bedroom as a unique place where a sole woman occupant can be free of much of the objectification and expectation imposed upon her most anywhere else in her life,“ says Fostel.

Fostel holds a BFA in drawing from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Fostel’s works have been acquired by various prestigious institutions such as Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Center for History and Culture and Robert W. Deutsch Foundation. Notable exhibitions include Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (2023), Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (2022), Academy of Art Museum (2022), Caroll Museum (2020), and Maryland Institute College of Art (2018). Fostel currently lives and works in Baltimore, MD. 

Jeemin Kim, Dawn and the Moment Before, 2019, Ink, Acrylic, Oil pastel on Paper, 32’ x 32’

Jeemin Kim

Jeemin Kim’s vibrant and dreamlike abstraction visualizes ephemeral yet spiritual moments the artist encounters in her everyday life. Having lived and worked in various places such as Seoul, New York, Baltimore, Seattle and San Jose, Kim has formed a habit of looking inward and self-examination amid a constant flux of changes. The very act of painting and art making has led and anchored the artist to a cognitive sanctuary that is static, tranquil and safe.

Employing smearing, staining and blistering, Kim allows the Surrealist method of chance and automatism to form organic shapes and colors.  While these expressive and energetic movement in her canvas allude to the dynamism in her surroundings, they also exhibit Kim’s persistent effort to control and orchestrate. Vibrant and visceral yet serene and refined, Kim’s visual symphony provokes a spectrum of emotions from the viewers. 

Kim has holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a MFA from Hunter College of New York, and a MA in City College of New York.  Kim’s works have been exhibited widely across the United States and around the world including Mountain View Center For the Performing Arts (Mountain View, CA), Ryan James Fine Arts (Seattle, WA), Open Space Gallery (Long Island City, NY), Soomilwon Gallery (YangPyung, South Korea) and Blank Space Art (New York, NY). Kim currently lives and works in San Jose, CA.