Kim Young Hun | Soluna Fine Art

Kim Young-Hun

Living through the transition between the analog generation and digital generation, Kim Young-Hun is passionate in observing and deciphering the unknown between the 1 and 0 of binary codes.

For Kim, such incomprehensibility intrigues him to create disoriented and euphoric paintings: Inspirations such as stripe covered light bulbs, white noise from digital screens, and invisible vibrations from string instruments allow Kim’s works, in his wordings, to “…generate an electronic-like abstract painting language that interferes with some parts of the ambiguous boundaries of our ever-changing digital or reality lives”.

Kim’s works demonstrate a traditional Korean painting technique called Hyukpil (革筆畫), in which the painter mixes various colors and paints with rapid strokes using a leather brush. The multi-colored stripes that seem to flow like ink are made by one continuous brush stroke across the canvas, with the oil colors melting together and permeate into the canvas. One of the distinctive features of Kim’s post-abstract works is the preservation of his raw artistic process: By having just one layer of paint, the trace of his pulsating brush strokes is unedited and simultaneously creates an illusion of a glossy screen.

Kim Young-Hun was born in 1964, in Nonsan, Korea. He is currently based in New York City and Seoul. Kim received his B.F.A. (1992) in painting from Hongik University. Continuing his studies, he soon enrolled at Chelsea College of Art and Design, and Goldsmiths College in London, and holds two M.F.As (2007 & 2008). Kim has exhibited extensively internationally with over 10 solo and 60 group exhibitions. His paintings are in several prestigious public and corporate collections, including Bank of America (New York), and The Arts Club (London), and in numerous museums.

Artist's CV