At Blogzine we love art and all the beautiful things in the world. But above all we love the people behind the art. Since recently you can find us every Thursday at Balthasar in Brussels. Here you’ll have a collection of artists, designers and young brands. Some of them permanently, others just pop up for a few weeks or months.
Art is something that makes you breathe with different kind of happiness
The colourful Woo Kim universe
It was at Balthasar that we met Woo Kim during Belgian Creator’s Day. Her colourful works of art immediately made her stand out among all the other works. Woo Kim is of Korean origin but has been living in Europe for a long time. She settled in Brussels about two years ago after graduating from the Royal Academy of Art.
Despite her background as a technical engineer, she has always wanted to make art. As an engineer, there is little room for experimenting without prior in-depth knowledge, but she did find that freedom in her art.
“I always wanted to make art, because being an artist allows you to be free and make
whatever you want without having to follow a certain set of rules.”
Woo Kim loves to use colour, because colour automatically evokes feelings. Those feelings are very personal and different for everyone. According to her, the reason why she likes to work with colour is because every colour has a different story, a different history, just like people. People have multiple facets and react very differently in diverse situations, that is also the case with colour.
“We as human beings are a very versatile species and are able to adapt in certain situations,
well so is my art.”
The guiding theme in Woo Kim’s art is movement and dynamic. The theme really comes from within, because she felt so long trapped in her work as an engineer. There was no room for fluency and that made her feel uncomfortable. Today she applies this (creative) freedom and openness both literally and figuratively in her art. The colours she uses are not fixed, the shapes move and everything flows into each other like a big mass.
During the lockdown here in Belgium Woo Kim created a number of works inspired by the beauty of flowers. Because outdoor activities were limited, she missed nature (and freedom) enormously. That’s why she started painting shapes that reminded her of flowers and the nature she missed so much. Everything she paints is open to the viewer’s own interpretation. Woo Kim always wants to give everyone the chance to sink into their own dreams and thoughts and translate her works into their own language of art.
A merger of passions with Ôdewa
Belgian-Congolese artist Ôdewa is no stranger to the Blogzine team. Earlier this year we included an article about her exposition “Art en Fusion”. Today we are zooming in on the incredible story behind her art and passions.
Having a background in art and gastronomy, Ôdewa knows the ins and outs of both worlds. But it hasn’t been until last year she decided that both worlds, or both of her passions could co-exist. She was confronted with a 9 year gap, an artistic block where she didn’t get any inspiration at all. Driven by her current profession as a chef, she took on the challenge to incorporate a piece of both in everything.
“It is strange because when I was in the kitchen, I missed painting and when I was painting
I missed cooking. So that’s when I decided to combine the two and let these two passions
of mine inspire each other continuously.”
The process for the creation of a dish goes the same way as the creation of a painting. Once an idea that has settled it’s way into her mind, the rest is mostly improvisation. The improvisation is based off a description of a certain trip, or a certain smell or feeling. This way my dishes and paintings are as unique as the one before. I’m really intrigued by different kinds of textures in cooking but painting as well and try to translate them in my art. For example I would use certain spices in a painting that I used in one of my dishes.
“The moment I know my paintings are complete, is when I feel the need to taste them.
Just like I would taste my dishes.”
Ôdewa’s art has evolved a lot over the years and she told us that this is mainly thanks to reaching out to strangers. By opening up about her craft and showing them her creations she got very honest feedback. It helped her improve what needed to be improved and highlight things that were already great. Because of her experience with sharing and opening up to others she really wants to spread this message to other young creator’s that are afraid of being judged.
We are already a huge fan of these two beautiful artists and follow their careers closely. As of this month you will also find Ôdewa in the Loui Bar of the fantastic Steigenberger Wiltcher’s in Brussels. Her exhibition ‘Orangerie’ runs until 20 November.
If you are still looking for an exclusive location to exhibit and share your own works with the public, Balthasar Brussels is the place to be. On their website you can find more info.
