Yoonmi Nam: Remains to be Seen

May 16, 2026 - June 28, 2026

From grayDUCK Gallery:
"I am interested in how everyday objects hold a sense of time that feels both fleeting and enduring. Working with materials such as paper, porcelain, and plastic, I explore how meaning emerges in ordinary things, often revealing layered and sometimes conflicting ideas about history, culture, and value.
I collect disposable objects that we handle, accumulate, and discard, such as plastic bags, take-out containers, and cardboard boxes. These items are designed for short, practical use, yet they often outlast the moment they were needed. I’m drawn to this tension between brief encounters and lasting presence, between use and afterlife.
In my studio, these objects become starting points. I trace them, press them, cast them, and print from them. Through contact, these processes leave marks and impressions that suggest both the object itself and something less tangible. It is an act of translation, rather than replication. The resulting works often feel familiar, but also slightly out of reach.
Working this way also helps me process these objects before letting them go. I press, crush, and reuse them until they feel worn down or emptied out. They become tattered, compressed, or strained. There is a tension between preserving and letting go, between care and exhaustion.
This body of work brings these ideas together as a kind of quiet landscape or tablescape. Objects appear pressed or suspended in time. They suggest moments in time, like brief encounters we rarely return to, and feel both specific and transient. I try to record these moments as they pass, making visible what often goes unnoticed. The works become traces of contact, holding onto something that is constantly slipping away.

Bio
Yoonmi Nam’s work considers cross-cultural experiences and a sense of transience through observations of everyday objects and occurrences. In her prints, drawings, sculptural works, and installations, she uses familiar disposable objects and cut flower arrangements as subject matter and explores their materiality, ephemerality, persistence, and the common and extraordinary way we structure our surroundings.
Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Yoonmi received a B.F.A. degree in Printmaking from Hong-Ik University in Seoul, Korea. She moved to the U.S. to study at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she received an M.F.A. degree in Painting/Printmaking in 2000. Yoonmi has received numerous grants and awards to support her studio practice and travel. Some notable achievements include a Solo Exhibition Award from The Print Center in Philadelphia, MI-LAB Artist Residency Award in Japan, The Hall Center Creative Work Fellowship at The University of Kansas, and the Ngawang Choephel Fellowship from the U.S. State Department. Her work is in the collections of the RISD Museum, RI; Spencer Museum of Art, KS; and the Beach Museum of Art, KS; among others and has been shown both nationally and internationally including countries such as Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Korea, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Italy, Sweden, and Paraguay. Yoonmi has taught at RISD and Washington University in St. Louis. Currently, she teaches at the University of Kansas, where she has been a faculty member since 2001."

Reception May 16, 2026 | 7:00 - 10:00 pm
grayduck gallery
2213 East Cesar Chavez
Austin, TX 78702
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