Artist Talk:
April 21, 2023 from 4:30-5:00 pm | Hedreen Gallery

Opening Celebration:
April 21, 2023 from 5:00 pm-8:00 pm | Hedreen Gallery

 Capitol Hill Artwalk Reception:
June 8, 2023, 5:00-8:00 pm | Hedreen Gallery 

Regular Gallery Hours:
Wednesday-Saturday, 1-6 pm

In dialogue, the works of Philippe Hyojung Kim and Birthe Piontek underscore the essential impermanence of our existence through a subversion of the traditional still life. Piontek tells us the nature of the organic is transformation. The disintegration of our nourishment acts as a gentle reminder of our own make-up: flesh will turn to dust. While Kim serves us plastic, prepared to outlast the dinner and the diner. Seemingly, meaningful change may only occur alongside temporality. In this moment of shared instability, we are offered the choice to embrace a state of flux. It’s here we find our humanity.

Philippe Hyojung Kim

Currently living and working in Seattle, WA, Artist-Curator Philippe Hyojung Kim received his MFA from Central Washington University. Philippe is a member of SOIL Artist-Run Gallery, a co-founder and curator of Specialist, and serves as a curator for the Washington State Arts Commission. He has exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide, and teaches at Seattle Central College and Cornish College of the Arts. 

Birthe Piontek

Born and raised in Germany, Birthe Piontek moved to Canada in 2005 after receiving her MFA from the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is featured in private and public collections, such as the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago and the Museum of Applied Arts in Gera, Germany. Her publications are award-winning, including Time Magazine’s nomination for Abendlied as one of the best photo books of 2019. Piontek is an Assistant Professor of Photography at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and a member of the Cake Collective.

^{photo by Janette Casolary}

Arielle Simmons

Galleries Curator, Hedreen and Vachon Galleries
Adjunct Professor, Art, Art History and Design Program 

Arielle Simmons holds a degree in Communications Studies from Emerson College, attended the New England School of Photography, and is a graduate of Seattle University's MFA Arts Leadership Program.  Her French mother and American father raised her surrounded by art and artists in South Carolina. From her parents, she adopted the development and programming of a long-running artistic retreat to a family home in the Jura Mountains of France. Working as a photographer for the past decade, she exhibited in solo and group shows across the country, including: Photo LA, The Light Room, and was a Critical Mass Finalist. Current research includes the ethical praxis of curation and documentary photography as well as the aesthetics and performance of gender.