（American, b.1982)
InJung Oh is a Korean-American artist and graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2009, where she received a Master’s of Fine Arts. Her works have been shown in Chicago’s Zhou B Art Center where Oh is currently an artist in residence, as well as in numerous national and international collections.
In 2012, Oh’s work was displayed at Chicago’s 33 Contemporary Gallery as a solo exhibition titled King and I. The name of the series is derived from an ancient Korean tale of royal tragedy. According to legend, three thousand concubines of a recently deposed king took their lives by throwing themselves off a cliff. The story still stands today as a powerful symbol for the issues of gender, identity, and conflict. In her works, Oh represents the king’s wives and, abstractly, femininity through the imagery of billowing skirts and the human body as flower petals and stamens. This inherently tragic story is countered by the symbolism of flower blossoms as life renewing, of subsequent generations of women, of life in perpetuity.
As a female artist of dual identities, East and West, Oh naturally identifies with the complexity of societal and hierarchical issues and uses symbolism to expound on her own experiences in intercultural society, such issues forming a focal point and building block for creativity and inspiration. Earlier artists such as Georgia Totto O’Keeffe, who focused on the symbolism of flowers and the female form, or Judy Chicago with her criticism of patriarchal culture from the female perspective, had unique takes on art and expression, and though Oh’s work draws some comparisons, her restraint from the overly provocative is more suggestive of social relations and gender interpretation. Where O’Keeffe used flowers to imply the female form and sexuality, Oh has moved the symbolism toward transformation and a discussion of social and cultural identity. In Oh’s previous series, Untitled, ^ , and V, we see in Oh’s works a variety of objects symbolize the female form. Combined with natural scenery as a performance stage where emotional states such as anger, apathy, and melancholy were expressed, she uses her art work as a resistance to various social prejudices and restrictions.
On display now at the Bluerider ART are InJung Oh’s works from Volossom, a continuation of the artists series King and I, where flower, petals and stamen as symbolism for life and the existence, continuation, mortality, and rejuvenation of the subject. “Volossom”, which is a term created by Oh, means “Vlossom as a manifestation of wish and will.” The flowers now form a symbol of positivity against adversity, of perseverance. Oh suggests the importance of the human spirit as an uncompromising reality, offering a unique artistic point and worldview.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2016 “Volossom” Solo Exhibition, Union League Club Chicago, USA
2015 “Volossom Decade” Solo Exhibition, Zhou B Art Center Chicago, USA
2015 “Volossom & Thousand Wish Project” Solo Exhibition, Ed Paschke Art Center Chicago, USA
2014 “Volossom” Solo Exhibition ,MIIT Museum Turin, Italy
2013 “Volossom” Solo Exhibition ,Bluerider ART Gallery Taipei, Taiwan
2012 “King and I” Solo Exhibition ,33 Contemporary Gallery Chicago, USA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 “New Business” Hyde Park Art Center Chicago, IL
2016 “Tempo Memoria” MIIT Turin, Italy
2016 “Centerline” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2016 “I AM American” North Central Gallery Naperville, USA
2015 “Context Miami Art Fair” Bluerider ART Gallery Miami, FL
2015 “53rd Art Exchange Symposium” Busan Federation of Art and Culture Busan, Korea
2015 “TRAP” Hammond Art Center Hammond, IN
2015 “Summer Solstice Art Exhibition: The Nature of Women” The Law Office Yorkville
2015 “Centerline” Group Exhibition Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2015 “Pro.gres.sion,” 15th & West Gallery Chicago, IL
2015 Curator Choice Exhibition River Bank Loft Gallery Chicago, IL
2014 “AHAF Seoul 2014” Bluerider ART Gallery Seoul, Korea
2014 “52nd Busan Art Festival” Busan, Korea
2014 “Curator’s Choice” 33 Contemporary Gallery Chicago, IL
2014 “I Am American” traveling exhibition Governors State University Chicago, IL
2014 Interactive live painting performance with “Horse of Honor” Chicago, IL
2014 “Young Art Taipei” Bluerider ART Gallery Taipei, TW
2014 “Art Tainan” Bluerider ART Gallery Tainan, TW
2014 “10th National Self portrait Exhibition” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2014 “Individual Direction” 33 contemporary Gallery Chicago, IL
2014 “I AM American” Water Street Studios Batavia, IL
2013 “Art Basel” Spectrum 33 Contemporary Gallery Miami, FL
2013 “Simbiosis Cultural” Centro Cultural de Baja California Mexico
2013 “Cultural Symbiosis” 33 Contemporary Gallery Chicago, IL
2013 “Centerline” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2013 “National Self portrait Exhibition” 33 Contemporary Gallery Chicago, IL
2012 “Synergy” Art Space 191, Vienna “Facemask” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2012 “Art Energy Future” Regional Museum of Natural Science Turin, Italy
2011 “Impetus” 33 Contemporary Gallery Chicago, IL
2011 “National Self Portrait Exhibition” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2011 “Current” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2011 “National Wet Paint Exhibition” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2011 “Sexy” Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL
2010 “National Wet Paint Exhibition” Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2010 Curator choice exhibition Noyes Cultural Art Center Chicago, IL
2010 Curator choice exhibition Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2010 Curator choice exhibition Zhou B Art Center Chicago, IL
2009 Curator choice exhibition 33 collective group show Chicago, IL
2009 “MFA Thesis Exhibition” Sullivan Gallery Chicago, IL
2009 Curator choice exhibition Greenleaf Art Center Chicago, IL
2008 “SAIC+DCB” Busan Design Center Gallery Korea, Busan
2008 Curator choice exhibition Union League Private Club Chicago, IL
2007 Curator choice exhibition Beverly Art Center Chicago, IL
2007 “The 32nd Exhibition: Chicago Korean American Art Association,” Cook County Treasure’s Office Chicago, IL
2007 “Remake=The Sequel” Gene Siskel Film Center Gallery Chicago
2007 “Reflection x 5,” The Gallery at Village Hall Lincolnwood, IL