RIA KEBURIA ART FOUNDATION + RESIDENCY - KIM SOO YOUNG
Preview by KIM SOO YOUNG - A CROWN OF BUTTERFLIES
Works created during the artist residency at RIA KEBURIA FOUNDATION + RESIDENCY in Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort, Gurjaani, Georgia
Organized & curated by RIA KEBURIA FOUNDATION + RESIDENCY & galerie bruno massa
Preview Opening on Saturday, 25 July 2026
A crown is often imagined as an object of permanence—crafted in gold, adorned with precious stones, passed from one generation to the next. In this exhibition, the crown exists differently. It is made of living wings. Butterflies and moths gather, rest for a moment, then disappear. Their movements form a crown that can never be possessed or preserved. It appears only through the quiet collaboration of countless fragile lives. The Queen inhabits this world not as its ruler, but as its witness. She does not command nature; she receives it. Flowers bloom around her, insects weave invisible paths through the landscape, and every creature contributes to a kingdom sustained by transformation rather than control. Drawing inspiration from the language of natural history—botanical studies, entomological observations, and imagined ecosystems—these paintings dissolve the boundaries between scientific curiosity and myth. Each work becomes both a field note and a fairy tale, where careful observation meets imagination. A Crown of Butterflies reflects on beauty as something that cannot be held. Like a season, a migration, or the brief touch of wings, the crown exists only while it is alive. KIM Soo Young is a Korean artist whose paintings merge natural history, folklore, and personal mythology. Through the recurring figure of the Queen, she constructs delicate ecosystems inhabited by butterflies, moths, insects, flowers, and imaginary species. Her practice explores transformation, fragility, and the quiet relationships that connect all living beings.
Works created during the artist residency at RIA KEBURIA FOUNDATION + RESIDENCY in Ambassadori Kachreti Golf Resort, Gurjaani, Georgia
Organized & curated by RIA KEBURIA FOUNDATION + RESIDENCY & galerie bruno massa
Preview Opening on Saturday, 25 July 2026
A crown is often imagined as an object of permanence—crafted in gold, adorned with precious stones, passed from one generation to the next. In this exhibition, the crown exists differently. It is made of living wings. Butterflies and moths gather, rest for a moment, then disappear. Their movements form a crown that can never be possessed or preserved. It appears only through the quiet collaboration of countless fragile lives. The Queen inhabits this world not as its ruler, but as its witness. She does not command nature; she receives it. Flowers bloom around her, insects weave invisible paths through the landscape, and every creature contributes to a kingdom sustained by transformation rather than control. Drawing inspiration from the language of natural history—botanical studies, entomological observations, and imagined ecosystems—these paintings dissolve the boundaries between scientific curiosity and myth. Each work becomes both a field note and a fairy tale, where careful observation meets imagination. A Crown of Butterflies reflects on beauty as something that cannot be held. Like a season, a migration, or the brief touch of wings, the crown exists only while it is alive. KIM Soo Young is a Korean artist whose paintings merge natural history, folklore, and personal mythology. Through the recurring figure of the Queen, she constructs delicate ecosystems inhabited by butterflies, moths, insects, flowers, and imaginary species. Her practice explores transformation, fragility, and the quiet relationships that connect all living beings.
