About

 Miae Ham is a Korean-Canadian artist known for her mixed-media paintings and installations, whose subject matter ranges from abstract to florals and landscapes. Originally from Chuncheon, Korea, Miae has since also lived and worked in Seoul, Singapore, Vancouver, and Montreal, where she currently resides.

Miae’s inspirations for her paintings are rooted in breaking down divisions and the overcoming of boundaries. The concept of the East-West Binary has followed her all her life – from her beginnings studying “Western Painting” at Seoul National University to her current identity as a Korean artist in Canada, residing on the opposite side of the globe from the country where she spent the first forty years of her life.

“The ultimate pursuit of Miae Ham as an artist is the unification of all dualistic elements – that is to say, implied in her artwork is the heartfelt idea of approaching Eastern ideology and emotions with Western artistic forms and the desire to graft two worlds together and discover shared spiritual values between the two.”

– M. Han, Curator, Chongro Gallery (Seoul)

Rather than viewing the binary aspects of her identity as incongruous or incompatible with each other, Miae chooses to search for ways to unify the dualism in harmony. Whether she does this by blending  traditional Korean ink with oils and acrylics, layering traditionally Korean materials like Sambe and Hanji onto canvases, or even creating translucent, double-sided paintings where light serves as a unifying force that transcends the boundary between two sides of the same surface, Miae seeks to combine both her Korean and Canadian experiences to create art that embodies her unique life experiences but also provides a welcoming space for all hearts to relate to.

For all inquiries including sales, please reach out at miaehamart@gmail.com or @miaeham on Instagram.