Minjung Kim

BIOGRAPHY

Appearing at first glance to be painted monochromes, the works of Minjung Kim (b. 1962, in Gwangju, Republic of Korea) gradually reveal themselves as intricately accrued surfaces. Early, intensive study of East Asian calligraphy endowed Minjung with a vision of our world as not merely a collection of physical objects, but as an infinite universe of processes.

Her training also taught Minjung to communicate through an extremely controlled deployment of her brush, which “channels” energy and directs it onto paper. The artist painstakingly mounts up the rice paper support of her paintings, either by overlaying burnt-edged sheets or by laying down a range of brushstrokes to achieve an overall gradation of sumi ink. The result is far removed from the legible signs of calligraphy or the customary figuration of traditional ink painting; instead, Minjung’s art revels in radical abstraction.

While she received formal training in the art of calligraphy and its principles of direct action and uninterrupted gesture, it was through Minjung’s studies at the Brera Academy in Milan that she became increasingly fascinated with the particular application of these techniques in the hands of such Western artists as Franz Kline and Paul Klee. This multi-faceted lens is fundamental to her practice and the various tensions it embodies.

WORKS

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Minjung Kim

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2021

TIMELESS, GALERIE COMMETER, HAMBURG, GERMANY LONG STREET OF TIMELESS HISTORY OF PHASING GREY SNOW INTO WATER, VOLKER DIEHL GALLERY, BERLIN, GERMANY TIMELESS, HYUNDAI GALLERY, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

2020

MINJUNG KIM, HILL ART FOUNDATION, NEW YORK, USA

2019

MINJUNG KIM, LANGEN FOUNDATION, NEUSS, GERMANY MINJUNG KIM, CATHERINE ISSERT GALLERY, SAINT PAUL DE VENCE, FRANCE MINJUNG KIM, GALERÍA CAYÓN, MAHÓN, MENORCA, SPAIN

2018

MINJUNG KIM: MOUNTAINS, ROBILANT+VOENA FINE ART GALLERY, ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND THE MEMORY OF PROCESS, WHITE CUBE, LONDON, UK MAKING THE VOID, FILLING THE VOID, GWANGJU MUSEUM OF ART, GWANGJU, KOREA

2017

PHASING, PATRICK HEIDE CONTEMPORARY ART, LONDON, UK CENDRE & LUMIÈRE, MUSÉE DES ARTS ASIATIQUES, CONSEIL DÉPARTEMENTAL 06, NICE, FRANCE ONENESS, HERMÈS FOUNDATION, SINGAPORE PAPER, INK AND FIRE: AFTER THE PROCESS, GALLERY HYUNDAI, SEOUL, KOREA

2016

PHASING, GALERIE VOLKER DIEHL, BERLIN, GERMANY MINJUNG KIM, LESLIE SACKS GALLERY, SANTA MONICA, LOS ANGELES, USA

2015

TRACES, OCI MUSEUM OF ART, SEOUL, KOREA THE LIGHT, THE SHADE, THE DEPTH, LUXEMBOURG & DAYAN, PALAZZO CABOTO, VENICE, ITALY (CURATED BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE AMMANN)