Stella Im Hultberg - Every Goodbye

Every Goodbye by Stella Im Hultberg
Outre Gallery Fitzroy
5 - 17 June 2020

Stella Im Hultberg was born in South Korea, raised in Seoul, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and later in California. She studied Industrial Design and worked as a product designer before serendipitously falling into the art world in late 2005. When not painting or drawing, she likes to eat, ride her bicycle, and play the New York Times crossword puzzle. After a decade in NYC, she now lives (and works) in Portland OR with her daughter and husband. Read our interview with Stella to learn more about her art practice.

Her show Every Goodbye was inspired by the many goodbyes Stella had to say as a child who moved around often. As adults, "we say goodbye everyday – little goodbyes each day, to ourselves and others of that day, to all the fleeting moments. All the passing, hidden, overlooked moments and feelings we either say goodbye to or bury them deep in our hearts. We try to go on, as if nothing hurts and nothing happened." Stella wanted to portray that "it’s okay to live with a different face than you feel. That it’s okay to hide. That it’s okay to feel hurt. That it’s okay to not be okay. That it’s enough of a wonder to just be living your lives carrying what you have inside."

Read our interview with Stella to learn more about her art practice.