Kim Westfall

Lives and works in New York, NY

Artist statement

My ribbon works push formal boundaries by merging the gesture of painting with the tactility of fiber using a hand-tufting gun. I intuitively punch layers of sheer ribbons and yarns through a substrate fabric. This process allows for complete gestural freedom, forgoing the flattened construction of loom-woven tapestries in favor of a surface that frays, bulges, and undulates. Works are actively negotiated in the moment, in a chain reaction from one mark to the next. I am attracted to borders and sites of preclusion that persist as geographical redactions in the landscape. These charged locations often exist as footnotes of history, desolate wasteland or redeveloped tourist infrastructure. I synthesize the uncanny atmosphere of the Korean DMZ, the labyrinthine scale of the virgin nuclear military plant 816 in rural Chongqing, and the border towns along the Yalu River between Northeast China and North Korea. My work embraces a comprehensive interpretation of scale (historical, personal, and temporal) to reframe conventional narratives of Cold War sites.

Artwork

• three at eight sixteen 3, 2025. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• new yalu river bridge, 2026. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• three at eight sixteen 2, 2025. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• three at eight sixteen 4, 2025. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• hotel karaoke pub, 2026. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• always pleasant amenities, 2026. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• cavity, 2026. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool
• three at eight sixteen 1, 2025. organza ribbon, chenille, cotton, wool