Collection, Reframed: Jiha Moon

I am excited for the unique opportunity to curate this edition of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art’s annual summer exhibition series, Collection, Reframed. I was born in South Korea, but after living in Atlanta, Georgia, for over 20 years, I have come to embrace being a Southerner myself, and it has become part of my identity as an artist. For me, it is important to recognize often underrecognized yet deeply dedicated regional artists who have been working within a global context. For this Collection, Reframed project, my vision was to bring regional and international artists into dialogue through selections that challenge us to think about how we define one’s roots, cultures, spirituality, and political frameworks. 

 

After exploring the Bechtler Museum’s permanent collection, I chose to channel these themes, focusing on women as both subjects and creative forces, and presenting multiple perspectives across the museum’s first, second-, and third-floor galleries. Initially inspired by Charlotte’s own Gina Gilmore, I gathered works for the Plaza Gallery that lean toward narrative and iconic imagery, which also connects to my own visual language. The Plaza Gallery brings together strong figurative elements with storytelling and a sense of ambiguity, featuring works by modern and contemporary artists such as Gilmore, Elizabeth Turk, Shaun Cassidy, Meret Oppenheim, and Pablo Picasso as well as examples from my own practice. This section of the show reflects our turbulent present time. Presenting a dynamic juxtaposition of opposites—small vs. large-scale, works on paper vs. sculpture, figuration vs. abstraction, Southern artists vs. historical artists—I aim to suggest how polarized ideas can coexist in a kind of chaotic harmony.

 

On the second floor, I focus on Walasse Ting’s 1¢ Life (1964), a remarkable portfolio of lithographs by 28 artists including Ting, Karel Appel, Joan Mitchell, Kiki Kogelnik, and Andy Warhol.. Displaying these prints alongside work by Bridget Riley and Tom Wesselmann, here viewers can reflect on the difference between women as makers and as subjects.

 

On the third floor, I aim to capture a quieter, more spiritual sense of female presence. A haunting textile by artist Hannele Ollakka shares space with surreal paintings by Julie Curtiss and Alberto Giacometti. Giacometti’s small sculptures alongside a table and lamp by his brother Diego evoke human connection and intimacy, inviting viewers to think about their own families and loved ones. 

 

Together, I hope this exhibition will be a dialogue between my practice and the Bechtler’s collection, inviting viewers to encounter familiar objects through a new lens.