Emmanuel Fremin Gallery is delighted to announce the third solo show of South Korean-born artist Young Sam Kim, Dark Cities. The exhibition will run from February 12 to March 8, 2015. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, February 12, from 6 to 8pm.

Born of an auditory-verbal impairment in Busan, South Korea, Young Sam Kim grew to become exceptionally perceptive to visual stimuli. Kim’s inclination for painstaking observation coupled with his poetic complexion naturally led him to practice the internalization of his highly conceptual motifs. Kim soon developed his own visual language with a depth only few could fully recognize. As Kim refined his intuition for visual literacy, he quickly developed a heightened sense of expression, gravitating toward photography to capture his enlightened, and often-evocative thoughts and emotions.

Kim contends that modern cities are replicas of mass production, shrouded with over-consumption and a lack of reflection. Instead of Purple Mountain Majesties overlooking the Redwood Forest and Gulf Stream waters, tall buildings of steel and glass dominate the skyline, forming a concrete jungle asphyxiated by the masses. As night grows deeper, a cascade of vibrant streetlights and neon-colored signs illuminate the city sky with electricity, hope, and promises of new beginnings. We romanticize the thought of making love to the city that vows to fulfill our unfulfilled dreams – The American Dream. The grim reality however, is far from our unsighted perceptions.