<OKNP> (Seoul) presents <Layered Quiet>, a solo exhibition by Kim, Ja-young, running from March 19 to April 30, 2026. Focusing on the friction and dissonance that occur within fluid memories—the noise of memory—the exhibition features 19 works of painting and installation.

Our inner world is never truly quiet. Memory is not a fixed set of information but a collective noise made up of shifting layers of sensation and emotion. Illogical feelings, contradictions that defy reason, and memories that resurface against our will all form the uncontrollable noise within us—an inherent realm that testifies we are not machines.

Kim works through the physicality of clay—pushing, stacking, and scoring its surface—to visualize this noise and to trace the fissures and interferences that create memory itself. Her works fall largely into two directions: the column sculptures that arise from the desire to silence inner noise, and the paintings that weave together personal and universal time.

<Practice: Column> is created through the coiling technique, stacking rolls of clay by hand. Within this inefficient and excessive process—something no machine would do—the body’s memory of rhythm and breath accumulates layers of habitual gesture, leaving traces of fingerprints and irregular textures. Over these, the artist draws straight vertical lines with a ruler. Knowing that the clay will shrink and twist in the kiln, these ruled lines embody her obsessive will to impose rational control over internal chaos. Yet inside the kiln, the clay reveals its own nature, bending the lines. In this paradoxical pursuit of perfection despite its impossibility, the imperfect lines become human, resonating as beautiful noise.

<Horizontal Record> interlaces the two dimensions of time through clay and glaze. Horizontally, subtly differing glazes overlap in seamless flow; vertically, a singular glaze cuts through in a straight descent. In the high heat of the kiln, personal and universal time merge into a form that resembles the true structure of living time. The two series share one formal attitude: because an act of absolute control was once attempted upon the clay, the final forms appear composed and orderly. Yet beneath the surface lie random transformations, fissures, and murmurs. For the artist, inner noise is not a defect but an unresolved irregularity—an essential vibration that defines each of us as distinct beings.

Kim, Ja-young received her BFA and MFA in Ceramic Arts from Ewha Womans University, where she is currently pursuing her doctoral degree. Beginning with <To Be Unloved> (2019), she has continued her practice through solo exhibitions such as <Blue Hole> (2020), <Refined Sediment> (2021), <Motion of Memory> (2023), and <Balance of Memory> (2025). In an era that prizes smoothness and efficiency, <Layered Quiet> asks how we confront the noisy interior of ourselves. The exhibition, filled with traces that are both calm and loud, invites viewers to encounter their own inner reflections.