<Tuning>

Nayul Kim and Babs Bleeker

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<Tuning> refers to the procedure for finding a specific tune or setting in instruments or tools, and may also mean altering a previous state. 

 

Nayul Kim creates paintings that originate in the digital and virtual realm. Using VR and image manipulation tools, she sculpts ambiguous forms that defy clear identification. While she often starts with a concrete idea, she embraces the unexpected during the process.

As a technically skilled painter, Kim has at times felt constrained by her mastery. In VR, however, she’s a newcomer—less in control, more intuitive. The digital process captures her gestures and movements, offering a new kind of expression. Shifting between virtual and physical media, Kim explores questions of materiality, presence, and authenticity. Her slow, tactile painting contrasts with the speed of digital image-making. This blend of technologies creates a layered visual language—one that is both clear and hard to define.

 

Babs Bleeker’s paintings are a way of clearing her mind and tuning the world around her into something she can make sense of. Her work offers a direct glimpse into her inner world — and there’s a lot happening there. Bleeker is neurodivergent, and this deeply informs her abstract paintings. She describes them as a kind of archive of everything she experiences and perceives — an attempt to bring order to chaos.