Image courtesy of the Artists
Two artists transform traditional materials–textile and paper–to explore themes of identity and memory.
Tai Hwa Goh creates intricate, layered installations from printed and cut paper, inspired by organic forms, landscapes, and the relationship between the interior and exterior. Goh’s process pushes the limits of traditional printmaking, as she modifies the characteristics of paper and thin fabric by covering with batik or ironing thin sheets of beeswax onto her prints, deliberately obscuring the underlying images. She then uses techniques like sewing, gluing, and manipulating printed materials to construct intricate, honeycomb-like structures. Found objects seamlessly integrate into the work, reflecting the blending of the personal and the universal, as well as natural and artificial elements.Through this process, the imagery gradually moves away from recognizable forms, and the dense layers serve as a space where nature, memory, and personal experience intertwine. Her installations invite viewers to contemplate the balance between the natural world and human existence, and how everyday moments can reveal deeper insights into our lives. Julia Kwon sews interpretive Korean textiles, specifically in the form of patchwork bojagi (Korean object-wrapping cloth), to critique received notions of Asiatic femininity and challenge reductive, easily legible identities. Although her bojagi textiles may initially be perceived as traditionally Korean, the patchwork designs are actually derived from urgent contemporary sociopolitical issues and events. Her work moves beyond simply representing minority identities as she aims to comment on the interconnected systems of oppression. Kwon’s practice contests the notion of authenticity and explores the complexities involved in constructing identities within the current framework of cultural hybridity, intersectionality, and the collective pursuit of social justice.Tuesday, October 6, 2026
| Artist Talk: Julia Kwon |
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Tai Hwa Goh is a Korean-born artist who primarily works with printmaking and paper installation. From 2000 to 2007, she established a significant career as both a professional artist and a lecturer in the Washington D.C. area. Since relocating to the New York Metropolitan area in 2007, Goh has continued to exhibit her artwork widely.
Her exhibitions include Sunroom at Wavehill (Bronx, NY), Torpedo Factory Art Center (Alexandria, VA), NARS Foundation (Brooklyn, NY), Wave Hill (Bronx, NY), William Paterson University (Wayne, NJ), Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, Saint Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA), Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ), Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Art (New York, NY), International Print Center (New York, NY), DUMBO Art Festival, Islip Museum (East Islip, NY), Gallery Aferro (Newark, NJ), AIR Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Snug Harbor Center for The Art (Staten Island, NY) and more. She has been awarded grants and residencies from Museum of Art and Design, Lower East Side Print Shop, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Aljira A Center for Contemporary Art, and Vermont Studio Center. Goh is a recipient of National Endowments for the Arts, New Jersey Individual Artist Fellowship Awards, the Gold Award winner of the AHL Visual Art Competition and The Artist of The Year from Korean Cultural Center (Washington, D.C.). Her work is in the collection of Booker- Lowe Gallery (Houston, TX), Art Bank (Washington, D.C.), DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (Washington, D.C.), and Sadat Collection, University of Maryland (College Park, MD). Goh received a MFA degree at the University of Maryland specializing in printmaking and sculpture. She also received a MFA in printmaking at Seoul National University in Korea.Julia Kwon has exhibited at venues including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery (Washington, DC), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York, NY), Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia Beach, VA), Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe, NM), Museum of Contemporary Art (Arlington, VA), Peale Center at Carroll Museums (Baltimore, MD), Hartnett Gallery at the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY), Taubman Center at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI), Biggin Gallery at Auburn University (Auburn, AL), and Torpedo Factory Art Center (Alexandria, VA), among others. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery (Washington, DC), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA), Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York, NY), Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe, NM), The New York Public Library (New York, NY), Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Thomas J. Watson Library (New York, NY), and Yale University’s Haas Arts Library Special Collections (New Haven, CT), among others. She has presented artist lectures and workshops at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC), The Phillips Collection (Washington, DC), Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia Beach, VA), Museum of Contemporary Art (Arlington, VA), Parsons School of Design (New York, NY), Georgetown University (Washington, DC), Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH), American University (Washington, DC), Emerson College (Boston, MA), and University of Rochester (Rochester, NY), among others. Her work has been highlighted in Smithsonian Magazine, CNN, The Washington Post, Korea.net, Hyperallergic, BmoreArt, PBS’s WETA Arts, Arirang News, SBS News, and The Wedding Banquet (2025, directed by Andrew Ahn). She was awarded artist residencies at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Chautauqua School of Art, Headlands Center for the Arts, Santa Fe Art Institute, Textile Arts Center, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, among others. Kwon holds a BA in Studio Art from Georgetown University and an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.
