Artist Statement - 2024

Jaden Kyung-Moon Bauch

The only thing people ever talk about when they talk about artists and money is about how they don’t have any. 

My work challenges this narrative by bringing art and finance into a shared dialogue, showing that creativity and financial literacy can coexist in powerful ways.

I draw inspiration from economic systems, transforming elements like financial data into intricate and atmospheric landscapes. By reinterpreting stock market graphs and other economic symbols through painting, I uncover the unexpected beauty in these structures. This process blends the precision of financial information with the expressive qualities of art, making these typically cold concepts feel approachable and full of possibility.

My practice also engages with the realities of financial sustainability for artists. Through projects that emphasize production and the value of art as a commodity, I aim to challenge the "starving artist" narrative, highlighting  art as a vehicle for economic empowerment. Engaging with both the creative process and the business of art, I aim to reframe the dialogue, fostering a vision in which artists thrive not only in their artistic pursuits but also in achieving financial abundance.

Ultimately, by choosing finance as the framework for my paintings, I seek to inherently spark curiosity and inspire a deeper understanding of how these systems can coexist, offering a new, more hopeful, discussion about money in creative fields.