Di(ver)se-ability, Diasporic Bodies
Di(ver)se-ability, Diasporic Bodies
An MFA Thesis Exhibition by Bo Kim
April 10–16
Reception & Artist Talk: Wednesday, April 15, 4–6 PM
Herter Art Gallery is delighted to present Di(ver)se-ability, Diasporic Bodies, a solo MFA thesis exhibition by Bo Kim, a candidate in the UMass Art Department.
Di(ver)se-ability, Diasporic Bodies brings together a series of works in drawing, painting, and printmaking that consider the intersections of disability, diaspora, and postcolonial history. Grounded in the artist’s experience as a neurodivergent Korean diasporic practitioner, the exhibition approaches fragmentation not as a problem to be resolved, but as a condition through which perception and memory are continually negotiated.
A recurring point of reference is the historical circulation of Korean ceramic vessels, later incorporated into Japanese tea culture and Western museum collections. Through processes such as repair and recontextualization, these objects have accrued layered meanings that reflect broader histories of translation, adaptation, and displacement. The works presented here respond to these conditions through material and process, attending to how surfaces hold and transmit traces of these shifts.
Working primarily with Sumi ink, charcoal, and mulberry paper, the artist employs repetition and layering as a means of structuring attention. These methods result in surfaces that unfold gradually, often requiring close and sustained viewing. Subtle variations—shifts in texture, tone, and reflection—emerge over time, suggesting a mode of perception that is both sensory and contingent.
In this regard, the work resonates with artistic lineages that engage repetition, surface, and material memory—from postwar drawing practices to contemporary approaches to archives and institutional critique. Rather than directly referencing these histories, the exhibition situates itself alongside them, contributing a perspective shaped by diasporic and neurodivergent experience.
Across the exhibition, seams, fragments, and layered marks remain visible. These elements do not resolve into a singular narrative but instead point to the ongoing nature of historical and perceptual reconstruction. In doing so, Di(ver)se-ability, Diasporic Bodies offers a quiet reflection on how bodies, objects, and histories are continuously shaped through processes of displacement, attention, and care.
This research project has been supported by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Arts Council, the Graduate School’s Public Engagement Supplement, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA) Summer Research Award, the Office of Equity and Inclusion’s Campus Climate Improvement Grant, the MFA Thesis Research Grant, and the HFA Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Artist Bio:
Bo (Boram) Kim is a visual artist, educator, and researcher whose interdisciplinary practice bridges painting, drawing, installation, stop-motion animation, and digital fabrication to explore themes of cultural memory, displacement, and ecological awareness. Working with traditional Korean materials such as sumi ink, natural pigments, and mulberry paper, Kim reinterprets archives and artifacts to question how visual language shapes identity and collective history.
Currently based in Amherst, Massachusetts, Kim teaches Drawing and Painting at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is completing her MFA in Studio Art. She holds an MA in Art Therapy and Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an MFA in Oriental Painting from Hongik University, and a BFA in Painting from Dongduk Women’s University.
Her teaching and research emphasize inclusive, process-based, and interdisciplinary learning—integrating critical inquiry, community engagement, and creative experimentation. Kim has been recognized with the 2026 HFA Outstanding Graduate Student Award, 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award and has participated in residencies at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Blue Mountain Center, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Vermont Studio Center, with additional grant funding. Through her art and pedagogy, she seeks to cultivate spaces where making becomes a form of dialogue, empathy, and transformation.
The exhibition has been funded by the UMass Arts Council and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.
Gallery Hours:
Mon – Fri: 11 AM – 4 PM
Sat: 1 PM – 4 PM
(Closed on Sundays and state holidays)