Tim Burton’s Big Eyes has burst into theaters this season, telling the story of Margaret Keane and her big eyed waifs (and the fraud her husband committed surrounding them).  The paintings were the height of 1970s kitsch - each showing an apparently scared (or scarred) child with a focus on their out of proportion eyes.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending Context - an art show in Miami during Art Basel weekend.  I stumbled upon the artwork of Mari Kim, and I was immediately  mesmerized.  She refers to her works as Eyedolls.

Kim also illustrates cartoon-like characters with big eyes, yet she uses real life inspirations for her work.  She created an entire series around movie stars and fashion icons - entitled The Famous Show- and her pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Coco Chanel are charming and vibrant, unlike Keane’s depressing works.  She also chose to include Marie Antoinette, Margaret Thatcher and Gloria Steinem, either as a tribute to the most influential women in history or a play on their feminism.

Kim also created the Eyedolls as windows to the soul, but she sets her work in a more uplifting tone, stating that the images are meant to convey the women as “children with limitless potential.”   Kim uses highly saturated colors and digital illustrations, removing the brush strokes, and the only work done by “hand” is her signature and the name of the piece at the bottom of each canvas.

To me, Kim’s work is humorous, charming and dynamic.  Whether one of her Big Heads or her Famous Eyedolls, I am saving up to purchase one for my living room wall.  Unfortunately for me, I suspect that her work should take off on the wave of the success of Tim Burton’s movie.