Bid for Two Graces, an inkjet print.

Graces (2005-2012)
The appropriation of female imagery in my work functions as a symbolic metaphor that addresses contemporary cultural dynamics and global social relations. The dissonance of Asian women’s bodies hybridized with western classical goddess heads allegorically captures contemporary global socio-cultural and political dynamics. The series addresses critical issues from art history, social values, and interracial relations in contemporary societies. It simultaneously reflects on the implications of real and ideal, as well as the properties and forces of human perception.

Bio
Debbie Han is a Korean-American artist who grew up in Los Angeles and received her B.A. in art from University of California, Los Angeles and MFA from Pratt Institute in New York. Han has been deeply drawn to the issues of how human experiences are shaped and defined in contemporary culture. Over the past decade, she has been exploring the theme of idealized female imagery as a means to investigate the issues of race, culture, identity, and perception in today’s pluralistic societies. Her works range from sculpture, photography, installation, to painting. The processes she utilizes consist of a wide spectrum of methodologies that range from appropriating classical images and craft techniques to cutting-edge photographic manipulation. Han’s recent work in painting and sculpture explore human visage to investigate the symbiotic relationship between the individual and society.

Han was the winner of The Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2009 and the recipient of The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2007. She was also awarded with numerous artist residencies in the United States and abroad. Han’s works have been shown internationally, including fourteen solo exhibitions in the United States, Korea, China, Germany, and Spain. She also participated in over ninety group exhibitions in the United States, Asia, and Europe, including exhibitions at Santa Barbara Museum in Santa Barbara, The Saatchi Gallery in London, Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul.
Debbie Han lives and works in New York and Los Angeles.