StudioKroner presents SUNIA GIBBS
February 9-March 11, 2023
Studio Kroner's opening show of the 2023 season features Korean-born and Portland, Oregon-based abstract expressionist Sunia Gibbs. Sunia will present her show, Vacated Spaces, from February 9 - March 11, 2023.
Sunia is a frequent visitor to Cincinnati, and her series "Vacated Spaces" exists to make the invisible visible, engaging the intangible and unseen in the city of Cincinnati. Influenced by early German expressionism and post-WWII French lyrical abstraction, Sunia relies on instinct and quick movements to create impulsive marks, textures, and color. She prefers a palette knife, acrylics, and charcoal to express and interpret the feelings and emotions of people and places. With degrees in piano performance and sociology, Sunia’s love of music and passion for understanding culture inform and drive her artmaking process.
Opening
6-9 pm, Thursday, February 9
Artist Talk
1-2 pm, Saturday, February 11
Closing
2-5 pm, Saturday, March 11
Sunia Gibbs Gallery (click on images for prices)
Artist Statement
This artwork series exists to make the invisible visible, engaging the intangible and unseen in the city of Cincinnati. Walking neighborhood streets, I observed, reflected, and absorbed, experiencing various and diverse locations with intention through all my senses. Freeing myself from the confines of representation or realism, I went to the canvas and intuitively produced images to capture each place's essence. While familiar colors and shapes may appear in my artwork, the intention is not to replicate what I see but to express how a city feels her spirit, and her soul.
In this work, I explore what is being communicated nonverbally by our environment and how we are profoundly interconnected. Each piece attempts to draw attention to something unseen, allowing the viewer to take notice and engage as [though] it truly exists.
"When I visit Cincinnati, I pay attention to the vacated and void spaces. The brick buildings, the narrow paths between buildings and structures, and abandoned spaces. In this series, I explored what is being communicated nonverbally by our environment and how we are profoundly interconnected, making these spaces and silences visible."
– Sunia Gibbs
Bio
Korean born and Portland based, Sunia has been creating abstract art since 2012. Preferring a palette knife, she primarily uses acrylics and charcoal to express and interpret the feelings and emotions of people and places. Influenced by early German expressionism and post WWII French lyrical abstraction, Sunia relies on instinct and quick movements to create impulsive marks, textures, and color. She is driven towards a pleasing aesthetic, building to the beauty that layers of emotive brush strokes and knife swipes leave over time on a canvas. For her, like life, there are no mistakes, only experiences culminating in a fuller, richer story.
With degrees in piano performance and sociology, Sunia’s love of music and passion for understanding culture inform and drive her artmaking process. Her work can be seen in venues along the west coast in Seattle, Portland, and San Diego.
​
​