What we can really say about Helen (Hyeon Jeong) Kim is that she has
a definite natural flair of the Surrealistic Realism. She is highly influenced by the Renaissance, Gothic and Surrealism with a slight
mix of Modern Contemporary art.

Gerhard Richter, being one of her main influences, possesses both the ability of producing realistic and abstract art. “I guess that’s what I’m trying to do later on in my life. Something both realistic and abstract…maybe a bit in between,” Helen stated. “To tell you the truth I really don't know how to describe myself or my art. Well.....it comes from all over the place really. Places I go, what I see, what I listen to, what I read, people I hang out with...people I love, my family...friends... it's all mixed together then it comes out to my art. I try to do things when I feel it, that I could see it and understand. Most of my paintings are pretty straightforward though. I am an extremely visual person. When it comes to art I believe in myself. I try really hard to believe in and see my SELF. I would also like to keep a sense of mystery, yet I do not hide. I really prefer people to conclude in what they see through my art; which is very open. Honest. No hidden meanings or ideas, just what you see and feel throughout it all. I guess I still continue to live in my own Never-land when it comes art.”

‘Painting has never painted anything but itself. It’s a work of self-fascination; but it’s process also extends to the exhibition and abyssal reflection of pictorial narcissism; to paint an abstract and a figurative work, does he not seek to express in this gap and proximity all that is unutterable in painting, its enigma, and still further, the very mystery of the visible? Richter uses photography to make a painting, as Rembrandt used drawing, or Vermeer the camera obscura. If the canvas is on the order of a transposition, the question which then arises is that of the model, the pretext for the painting. Richter uses photography to make a painting, as Rembrandt used drawing, or Vermeer the camera obscura.”
~Gerhard Richter 100 Pictures with texts by Birgit Pelzer and Guy Tosatto Edited by Hans-Ulrich Obrist“

I absolutely agree with this quote which I had followed and believed most of my life. There is always at least a main tool in which every artist need and depend on. My key instrument is my mind and my hands. Of course I use other external devices such as photography to make a painting, but the mind, I believe stores a more vast use of knowledge and references for one’s use. Our memories, childhood till the present, affects us now in how we see and do things. In the artists’ mind, we simply store the details in what we know are important. Then we use it for our creation. I usually take my own reference in photography or use other people’s. I guess that’s one of the advantages of modern life, using it as a tool. To combine reality and imagination, I then try to bring it to life,” she emphasized. “Imagination is also very important to an artist. We simply cannot live without it. From the beginning of our creation and all the way to the end, we go hand in hand. It is our constant companion all through life.”

‘Some people would say, "Abstraction is as much a representation as anything else. But I wanted it to be more simple-minded. Why can't I just be forthright about saying that I'm the author, that I'm the one who determined it? I do find myself looking at old art, but it's because those are the best pictures. I can see that there may be a historical reason to paint like Richter or someone, but I think there's always a perverse reason behind every one of those logical, historical justifications. You can't make a painting without embracing your own desire as something good. You can find all kinds of examples of this with the Expressionists. There's a perverse aspect to their saying "I made it this way, I made
the shadow on her face green." When you choose distorted or
unnatural colors, it's not lyrical or metaphorical so much as it's infantile or atavistic…’
~Gerhard Richter 100 Pictures with texts by Birgit Pelzer and Guy Tosatto Edited by Hans-Ulrich Obrist ~

In viewing her works, one can actually see and understand the heavy impact in which was shaped and inspired by her muses. Using rich, warm oils and other mediums, she had endeavored to recreate th world from the old masters, but also including her own unique blend of Surrealism and a sense of mystery and spirituality. “It is easy for one to say that I am or you are an artist. It’s really more complicated as that. We must possess and embrace both a logician’s, a philosopher’s, the technical skills and let’s also include the eye to really grasp the concept of what we are building and sharing to the common society. We just don’t create things just to show. A true artist merely builds into existence of what is inside of us. It is a doorway for outsiders to have a glimpse a part of oneself on the inside. It is truly a marvelous and personal way to be sharing a bit of myself with others,” she laughs. “Then I do hope to know when to hold back in what I’m trying to show and hide in me. Art itself is honestly a repetition of history. We are constantly being inspired by pictures or other things among our environment and we basically transfer the idea onto paper. I really wouldn’t be surprised if after years and years of being inspired and painting from one picture, that all will come around to the very same image again...”