Gahee Kim is a freelance Artist from Seoul South Korea, based in Paris. She works under a pseudonym Danh-A, pronounced like [dana]. That means ‘A bud of the morning’. Using this name, she aspires to be an artist who evokes certain feelings of aliveness and vitality through my painting.
“I’ve been interested in art and drawing since I was a little girl. It is not surprising that I decided to study fine arts at university and specialized in textile art and digital design.”
The female artist realized her natural talent for drawing and painting at an early age. During her university years, she was granted some opportunities to participate in group exhibitions in Seoul with her fine arts colleagues. “At that time, I was very proud of myself and had much pleasure in introducing my artwork to the public,” she said. “When I was working at my company, I’d never stop making arts. Now, I’m so glad to be able to fully immerse myself in an artistic endeavor.”
After finishing her Bachelor's degree, she worked as a designer at one of the most recognized lingerie brands for about 10 years. Despite having such a stable job, Kim felt as if something was missing in her life. She eventually left Korea and headed for Paris where she has been able to explore diverse aesthetic aspects of art and develop her own unique style. She obtained the professional title of a decorative painter and a Master degree in decorative arts from the École Supérieure d’Art Mural et Décoratif de Versailles. Since then, she has been participating in restoration and decorative painting projects in France.
Her Art
Her art includes the use of oil paints, oil pastels and acrylics on canvas or papers. When it comes to her drawing theme, flowers are one of her major sources of inspiration, which leads her to research a rich variety of colors and shapes. She also loves creating portraits because depicting facial features with small details like soft flesh, hairstyle, and fabric is one of her strengths.
“For me, painting is my destiny. Whenever I paint something, I feel alive. If I don’t do that, I feel guilty for not using my God-given talent.”
The artist is inspired by different types of painting styles and techniques, such as European paintings of the 17th or 18th century, impressionism, and hyperrealism and so on. She loves reinterpreting them by infusing her own aesthetic perception onto canvas. Since the Coronavirus outbreak, she has been spending quality time making stunning paintings in her atelier and planning future projects. “One of them I recently made is that I created my YouTube channel ‘DanhArtStudio’ to share my drawing skills with people,” she stated.
Kim admitted that she was really drawn to flowers. She had a chance to take professional floral design classes in Paris and learned how to make floral arrangements. The art of floristry helped in nourishing her creativity and improve her observation skills of flowers. The diversity of their colors, shapes and even scent awakens her new creative inspiration all the time.
Throughout her graduate program, she mastered ancient decorative techniques by studying the conservation and restoration of paintings. That is why you always find her trying to mix the techniques she learned using various mediums and materials for my work.
