When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

–Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things”

Joy Machine is thrilled to present The Peace of Wild Things, a duo exhibition by Chicago-based American artist Emmy Star Brown and San Jose-based Korean artist Danym Kwon. This is Brown’s second exhibition at Joy Machine and Kwon’s third.

Drawing its title from Wendell Berry’s often-quoted poem, The Peace of Wild Things is a return to wonder through disparate yet complementary practices. For both Brown and Kwon, color and layering become a means of self-discovery and a way to tap into the emotions, dreams, and memories that might not surface otherwise. Their practices diverge in notable ways–Brown works abstractly, while Kwon turns to surreal representations of care and domestic life–but when presented together, they enter into a harmonic dialogue about the ways experiences linger long after a moment has passed.

Whether working on a monumental mural or intimate painting on canvas, Brown revels in riotous geometries of color. Amorphous forms and clean lines commingle in compositions that conjure the emotional power of magenta, peach, cobalt, or goldenrod. Describing her studio practice as the space in which her inner child emerges, the artist harnesses the playful energy we typically associate with adolescent imagination. In both her canvases and irregularly shaped found-cardboard pieces, each line resists being bound by the edge of the frame, instead appearing to continue onward on its own course.

Inversely, Kwon nests tiny scenes of family life into stacks of folded clothes and bulbous vessels evocative of Korean Moon Jars. Holding the mundane with affection, the artist preserves small acts of care by placing them securely inside these larger forms. Rendering elements at different scales echoes the ways experiences fade and reappear over time, while the soft, pastel color palettes suggest a tenderness toward quiet intimacies.

Kwon also draws on her Korean heritage and training in Asian painting traditions, the latter of which informs her understanding of negative space. In the diptych “What We Hold Dear,” she pairs a trio of vignettes depicting outdoor adventures with hands cradling the small findings from such endeavors. The pieces are presented in a folding frame with soft, rounded edges inspired by Korean design.

For both Brown and Kwon, painting offers the necessary space to process the past and imagine the future. Perhaps more importantly, though, the practice demands one’s presence and creates the conditions that spark wonder and joy.

The Peace of Wild Things is on view from August 28 to October 17, 2026.

RSVP to the opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 28. Brown will be present.
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Tags: Danym Kwon, Emmy Star Brown, Irving park, Joy Machine