Christine Sun Kim: All Day All Night

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Future Base, 2016

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In the twenty drawings that make up Future Base, Kim playfully explores the notion of the future, reframing it in ways that involve references to art, popular culture, and Deaf culture. The starting point for each work is the shape of the sign for “future” in American Sign Language, which traces two semicircles arching away from the face. Kim visualizes the hand’s trajectory in space as two curved lines, adapting it to multiple scenarios. After landing in a glass of wine, the line in Future Gets Sleepy becomes dotted. In Hockney Future, the line dives into a swimming pool, a riff on David Hockney’s 1967 painting A Bigger Splash. The lines in Future with White Privileges and Future with Sound Privileges both score a hole-in-one, critically reflecting upon inequitable access to the very idea of the future.

Christine Sun Kim, Future Base, 2016

Art gallery with musical staff lines and notes painted on walls, featuring framed abstract drawings arranged in a grid on a wooden floor.
Art gallery with musical staff lines and notes painted on walls, featuring framed abstract drawings arranged in a grid on a wooden floor.

Installation view of Christine Sun Kim: All Day All Night (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, February 8-July 6, 2025). Mural: Ghost(ed) Notes, 2024 (re-created 2025). On wall, clockwise from top left: Future Tells Bad Knock-Knock Jokes, 2016; Hockney Future, 2016; Future with White Privileges, 2016; Future with Certified Sign Language Interpreters, 2016; Good Grief Future, 2016; Future Does the Biles, 2016; Future Gets Sleepy, 2016; Futurist Future, 2016; Denim Future, 2016; Future Attempts to Hearsplain, 2016; Future Attempts to Deafsplain, 2016; No Future, 2016; Rhyme Pattern Future, 2016; Future Gets High on Caffeine, 2016; McFuture, 2016; Too Much Future, 2016; Future Gets Paranoid, 2016; Future with Sound Privileges, 2016; Kapoor Future, 2016; Future Schmuture, 2016. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

  • The words "Denim Future" with "Demi" crossed out above two simple pocket sketches on a white background.
    The words "Denim Future" with "Demi" crossed out above two simple pocket sketches on a white background.

    Christine Sun Kim, Denim Future, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • A simple drawing shows a golf ball's trajectory into a hole with a flag, labeled "Future with White Privileges."
    A simple drawing shows a golf ball's trajectory into a hole with a flag, labeled "Future with White Privileges."

    Christine Sun Kim, Future with White Privileges, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • A simple line drawing with the text "Future with Sound Privileges" above a curved line and a small flag on a pole.
    A simple line drawing with the text "Future with Sound Privileges" above a curved line and a small flag on a pole.

    Christine Sun Kim, Future with Sound Privileges, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • Text "Good Grief Future" above a black zigzag line on a white background.
    Text "Good Grief Future" above a black zigzag line on a white background.

    Christine Sun Kim, Good Grief Future, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • Black abstract shape on white background with the words "Too Much Future" written above.
    Black abstract shape on white background with the words "Too Much Future" written above.

    Christine Sun Kim, Too Much Future, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Drawing Committee 2018.183. © Christine Sun Kim

  • Black abstract line drawing with the words "No Future" above it on a white background.
    Black abstract line drawing with the words "No Future" above it on a white background.

    Christine Sun Kim, No Future, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • A simple line drawing of a V shape with the text "FUTURE GETS PARANOID" above it on a plain background.
    A simple line drawing of a V shape with the text "FUTURE GETS PARANOID" above it on a plain background.

    Christine Sun Kim, Future Gets Paranoid, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • Two black arches resembling the McDonald's logo, with the word "McFuture" above them, drawn on a white background.
    Two black arches resembling the McDonald's logo, with the word "McFuture" above them, drawn on a white background.

    Christine Sun Kim, McFuture, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • A simple line graph with a steep decline leveling off, labeled "Future Schmuture" at the top.
    A simple line graph with a steep decline leveling off, labeled "Future Schmuture" at the top.

    Christine Sun Kim, Future Schmuture, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm), Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • A simple drawing of a golf hole with a flag, labeled "Future with certified sign language interpreters."
    A simple drawing of a golf hole with a flag, labeled "Future with certified sign language interpreters."

    Christine Sun Kim, Future with Certified Sign Language Interpreters, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • A hand with a raised finger splits a line into two paths, with the text "Future Attempts to Hearsplain" above.
    A hand with a raised finger splits a line into two paths, with the text "Future Attempts to Hearsplain" above.

    Christine Sun Kim, Future Attempts to Hearsplain, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

  • Five hands with raised index fingers are connected by a single line. Text above reads "Future Attempts to Deafsplain."
    Five hands with raised index fingers are connected by a single line. Text above reads "Future Attempts to Deafsplain."

    Christine Sun Kim, Future Attempts to Deafsplain, 2016. Charcoal on paper., 11.81 × 15.75 in. (30 × 40 cm). Private collection. © Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy François Ghebaly Gallery and WHITE SPACE

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