ARTIST STATEMENT            

                 No matter what day it is, I struggle everyday. Hiding behind my smile is actually something so dark and vulnerable. I am an embarrassment to my family. I bring shame and truth to my artwork. Everyday is a challenge to live and breathe. Feeling stuck and lost is just a mundane feeling I felt before I discovered art at the age of 20. I was evoked and eradicated to express my thoughts through imagery and words. My body of work represents the differences had; being born a female was scrutinized and belittled. Verbal abuse from my childhood still haunts me today. I have so much to convey and express. Breaking away from the toxic surroundings, I began to search my inner soul. Beaten with hateful words, enabled me to express my artwork by creating layers with different mediums. Depending on the subject matter, I start my work differently. Sometimes, simply with just a pencil, or glazing the white paper with a vivid red background, or creating paint splattered throughout the whole surface before I even begin with my subject matter.  Ridiculed and disowned from my own family has made my artwork more compelling and controversial. And for me to represent such turmoil takes me back to the mediums I use. For my viewers to grasp more deeply and understand that the process is a vital part of my artwork. Layering different mediums, enables me to express the difficulty and chaotic life I was born into.

The stereotype of being a submissive, quiet, and domesticated asian female were forced upon me since I can remember. This illusion surpassed my true identity. Now, I am broken free from the toxicity and am resonating it through my art by creating these juxtapose pieces of redefining my true identity. 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY         

             I am a second generation Korean American female that struggled terribly during my childhood and to my adulthood. In my family, my life was nonexistent. I was resented, unloved, neglected, and treated like a ghost from my biological parents. My father was a manic depressed, alcoholic during my whole life. My mother is a “narcissistic mother” whom never wanted me and told me that her greatest regret in life was having to stop breastfeeding my brother because I was born. 

             My life began in a very toxic environment and has effected my choices in life and has brought self doubt throughout my life. Ive tried multiple times to commit suicide, but somehow, it’s always failed on me. At the age of 20, I found ART. From there, my life and choices have changed and my art keeps evolving into something original. After I finish an artwork, I can release a part of tension that was broken and tarnished from my mangled heart. Then, a newfound of freedom and self love is unlocked for me to prevail and execute my next work of art.

             Growing up in a muddled family, my brother, the “golden child” attended USC as I was told that my intellect will not allow me to attend any prestigious universities. I was called “babo” which means stupid in Korean. I was naively tricked that I did not need to take my SAT’s. As a child, I believed everything they conveyed to me. Later in life, I realized that I was deceived and it brought joy to them when any kind of aspiration came into my life and I gave them the power to demolish any good that came my way. I was my families punching bag. I struggled extensively from the trauma that I had endured because I thought that I was the poison that was savagely destructing the family. Then, later, after 37years of life, I realized that it was not me but rather I was surrounded with toxic people. 

               Eventually, I had persevered many obstacles from my life. After graduating high school at the year of 2000, I enrolled myself to FIDM, studied hard for Marketing and Product Development and graduated cum laude at a 3.8 GPA. Regretfully, I never attended that graduation because I foolishly let “my family’s word” jeopardize my future choices.

               At the age of 20, something static happened. My life changed and I ferociously pursued my life as an artist. I ecstatically announced my newfound passion to my family, and they brutally laughed and impertinently told me I was crazy. Shockingly, for the first time in my life, I numbed them out and passionately started learning all about the ARTS. Creativity was not in my vocabulary, as I never drew as a kid, nor did any arts and crafts.

               Anxiously, I took my passion for painting and drawing and started enrolling in all the art classes at a community college. I dedicated myself in so many art classes and studied about art night and day. I judiciously isolated myself with art. I forcefully wanted all the knowledge about art, artists, history…etc that time passed so quickly, that within 2 years, I have taken so many classes that I received an AA in Drawing and Painting. At 2003, Cerritos Community College awarded me  “Student of the Year Curricular Art Award.” For the first time in my life, I felt pride and I knew this was my calling, passion, and purpose for my life. Since, I couldn’t afford to transfer to a prestigious university, I applied to only one school that was close to where I lived, California State University of Fullerton. From there, I graduated with a Deans List and received my BFA in 2007. 

             After graduation, I wanted to get experience, and produce series of artwork and only focusing on the purpose of my artwork. Merrily, 2007 was a dream and seemed effortless with all the upcoming events. The Bill Lowe Gallery in Santa Monica, CA had called me and asked me if they can represent me as one of their Artists, so I happily signed with them. A month later, TARFEST Festival of Film, Music, and art in Los Angeles CA, chose one of my art pieces “Choices” to be represented in the Korean Culture Center. Also, in 2007, I was chosen for an Artist Residency for two months and was the youngest artist to exhibit in “The Red Arrow Gallery” in Joshua Tree with two other artists. I was publicized in Korea Times, Los Angeles and an exclusive article about me as an artist in the Hi Desert Star in Joshua Tree News. In the last months of 2007 and first month of 2008, I was granted $600 to stay at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center in Nebraska for another artist residency. With the works that I produced at the residency, I was granted a $1000 honorarium, with a two month solo exhibition in Omaha, Nebraska at the Art Loft of Florence Mill. In 2009 I went to Madison, Wisconsin for another Residency and produced more than twenty works during my stay. At 2010, from those artworks, I was fortunate to be asked to show in a two artist exhibition in Stockton, California at the “LH Horton Gallery.” My artwork was hung throughout the gallery for a full month.

Exhibitions

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:  

 -Art-Loft of the Florence Mill                                                                              Omaha Nebraska 68112                                                                            $1,000 honorarium, 2008

GROUP EXHIBITITIONS:         

-FIGURES: Monologue/Dialogue             LH Horton Jr. Gallery Delta Center for the Art                                                         Stockton California 95207,  2010                              

The Painted Veil                                             Bill Lowe Gallery                                         Santa Monica, California 2007  

-TARFEST Festival of Film, Music, and Art                            The Korean Cultural Center                                 Los Angeles California 90024, 2007

-Under the Influence of the Hi-Desert                              The Red Arrow Gallery                       Joshua Tree California 92252, 2007      

-The Blanche Ames National             Juried Art Exhibition                              North Easton, Massachusetts 02067, 2007

 -Knobturnal                                        Mountain Bar:                                              Los Angeles California 90012, 2006

-Different Stroke                                  SCURR Los Angeles Conference:                               Los Angeles California 90041, 2006                       

-Cross Culture                                          CSU Fullerton Exit Gallery                 Fullerton California 92634, 2006                                    

 -A New Beginning                                                                             Cerritos College Art Gallery:                                                     Norwalk California 90650, 2004

Publications

-News Press,                                                            Nebraska City Nebrasks, 2008 Pg.B2 

- Korea Times,                                                                       Los Angeles California, October 1, 2007

-HWY 62                                                                      Joshua Tree California,  2007
 High Desert

-Hi -Desert Star                                                          Joshua Tree CA Wednesday, 2007
 Titled: Night Painter: Sariah Ha

-TARFEST                                                                    Festival of Art Los Angeles California, 2007

-Hi-Desert Star                                                           Joshua Tree California,  2007

Residencies

-Edenfred Residency                                                                                 Madison, Wisconsin 53705, 2009                           

Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Nebraska City, Nebraska 68418                       Studio/Grant $600, 2007-2008

-Joshua Tree Highlands                                            Joshua Tree, California 90291, 2007

Awards

- Connor Meigs Award                                                $1,000 Honorarium, July 2008

- Kimmel Harding Nelson for the Arts Award           Grant $600, January, 2008

- California State University Fullerton                   Founder and Leadership 2007

- Cerritos College                                                      Student of the Year Curricular Art Award 2003

 - Department of Art and Design Scholarship           John De Mott Award 2003

-California State University Fullerton                                                                 Deans List 2004-2007                                Phi Theta Kappa 2004-2007                  Golden Key International Honour                 Society 2004-2007 

 -Cerritos College                                       Phi Theta Kappa                                  International Scholastic Order 2002-2004

  -FIDM                                              President’s Honor Roll 2000-2002

Education

-California State University Fullerton                     Bachelors of Fine Art                                                 Drawing and Painting 2007

 -Study Abroad                                                               Spain & Morocco 2006                                        Italy/Rome 2004                                                         

-Cerritos College                                                           A.A. Fine Art in Drawing and Painting 2004                                                   

-The Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising   A.A. Marketing & Product Development 2002