Minjung Kim
Korean paper artist (born 1962)
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Minjung Kim (Korean: 김민정; born 1962) is a Korean contemporary paper artist that specializes in hanji paper art, ink painting, and calligraphy.[2] Kim has had work displayed in museums internationally,[2] the Gwangju Biennale in 2004 and 2018,[6] Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale in 2025,[7] and the Venice Biennale in 2015.[1]
Brera Academy (MFA) [1]
'Traces' (2024, Art Basel) [4]
'Story' (2006, Met Museum) [5]Minjung Kim | |
|---|---|
김민정 | |
| Born | 1962 (age 63–64) Gwangju, South Korea |
| Education | Hongik University (BFA, MFA) Brera Academy (MFA) [1] |
| Occupation | Hanji Paper Artist [2] |
| Notable work | ‘The Light, The Shade, The Depth’(2015 Venice Biennale)[3]
'Traces' (2024, Art Basel) [4] 'Story' (2006, Met Museum) [5] |
| Website | https://minjung-kim.com/ |
Between 1991 and 2026, Kim has had 68 solo exhibitions in museums in Europe, North America, and Asia.[1] She has also been featured in group exhibitions on women in abstract art,[8] contemporary landscape painting styles,[9] contemporary Korean art,[10] the 'feeling of light' in a painting as inspired by Kora of Sicyon,[11] and many more.
Biography
Kim was raised in rural Gwangju, Jeolla-do, South Korea. Her father was a printing shop owner.[12] Kim began calligraphy art and experimenting with paper scraps as a child. According to Kim, she knew that she would be an artist when she was young since she won all of the local art competitions.[13]
Kim completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts (1985)[14] at Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea. She moved to Milan, Italy in 1991 to complete a Master of Fine Arts at Brera Academy.[15]
Kim is currently based between New York City, United States and St. Paul de Vence, France[16][17]
Art technique
Kim burns the edges of hanji, traditional Korean paper, and further manipulates it create minimal collages.[18] She folds, cuts, tears, sculpts, and glues the hanji scraps to create a full minimalist, abstract picture(s).[15][13]
She told Forbes that she chose paper as her medium because "You can make a web, a painting, you can tear it, you can cut it, you can bond it... My life is a diaspora. Paper, you can roll it, you can take with you. It’s like your skin.”[15]
Her artistic inspirations include minimalist and abstract artists, including Constantin Brâncusi, Brice Marden,[6] Guo Xi, Briget Riley,[15] and painters from the Joseon Dynasty.[12]
Solo exhibitions
| Exhibition [1][19] | Dates | Gallery | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain | TBD 2026 | Almine Rech | Gstaad, Switzerland |
| The Pulse of Ink, Paper and Fire[20] | Jan 21 — Mar 7, 2026 | Almine Rech | Brussels, Belgium |
| Survey of Works[21] | January 5, 2026 – January 31, 2026 | Space Gallery | Gustavia, Saint Barthélémy, France |
| Repetitions | 2026 | Robilant+Voena Gallery | Milan, Italy |
| Traces of Silence[22] | October 2, 2025 - November 22, 2025 | Galerie Commeter | Hamburg, Germany |
| One after the Other | August 27, 2025 - October 19, 2025[19] | Gallery Hyundai | Seoul, South Korea |
| Mountain [23][24] | Nov 9, 2024 —Feb 23, 2025 | Fondation Maeght | Saint-Paul de Vence, France |
| Regeneration[25] | Apr 26 — May 25, 2024 | Almine Rech | Paris, France |
| Repetición[26] | February 24 – April 3, 2024 | Galerie Nordenhake | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Minjung Kim[27] | December 19, 2023 - January 28, 2024 | Robilant+Voena | St. Moritz, Switzerland |
| Burning Gravity[28] | September 21– October 30, 2023 | Almine Rech & Sotheby's | Monaco |
| Timeless[22] | September 16 – November 3, 2021 | Galerie Commeter | Hamburg, Germany |
| Long Street of Timeless History of Phasing Grey Snow into Water[29] | September 15 – October 30, 2021 | Volker Diehl Gallery | Berlin, Germany |
| Timeless | February 19, 2019 – March 28, 2021 | Hyundai Gallery | Seoul, South Korea |
| Minjung Kim[30] | March 4, 2020 - March 27, 2021 | Hill Art Foundation | New York, NY, USA |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | September 29, 2019 – March 22, 2020 | Langen Foundation | Neuss, Germany |
| Minjung Kim[31] | July 5 –September 15, 2019 | Catherine Issert Gallery | Saint Paul de Vence, France |
| Minjung Kim | June 19 – September 5, 2019[19] | Galería Cayón | Mahón, Menorca, Spain |
| Mountains | December 29, 2018[19] | Robilant+Voena Gallery | St. Moritz, Switzerland |
| The Memory of Process [32][33] | January 25 – March 10, 2018 | White Cube | London, England, UK |
| Making the Void, Filling the Void | August 22– November 25, 2018 | Gwanju Museum of Art | Gwangju, South Korea |
| Phasing | 2017 | Patrick Heide Contemporary Art | London, England, UK |
| Cendre & Lumière | 2017 | Musée des Arts Asiatiques | Nice, France |
| Oneness | 2017 | Hermès Foundation | Singapore |
| Paper, Ink and Fire: After the Process | September 1 –October 8, 2017 | Hyundai Gallery | Seoul, South Korea |
| Phasing | 2016 | Galerie Volker Diehl | Berlin, Germany |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2016 | Leslie Sacks Gallery | Santa Monica, CA, USA |
| Traces | 2015 | OCI Museum of Art | Seoul, South Korea |
| The Light, The Shade, The Depth[14] | 2015 | Luxembourg & Dayan | Venice Biennale, Italy |
| Oko | 2014 | New York, NY, USA | |
| Sound of Light | 2014 | Galerie Commeter | Hamburg, Germany |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2014 | Studio d'Arte Raffaelli | Trento, Italy |
| Art Genève 2014 | 2014 | Artgèneve Salon d'Art | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2013 | Patrick Heide Contemporary Art | London, England, UK |
| Sound of Light | 2012 | Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma [6] | Rome, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2012 | Leslie Sacks Gallery | Brentwood, CA, USA |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2012 | Galleria Sahrai | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2010 | Galleria Sant'Angelo | Biella, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2009 | Galleria Valeria Bella Stampe | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2009 | Patrick Heide Contemporary Art | London, England, UK |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2009 | Galleria Ermanno Tedeschi | Rome, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2008 | Galleria Ermanno Tedeschi | Turin, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2008 | Robilant+Voena Gallery | London, England, UK |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2008 | Gallerie Mudimadrie | Antwerp, Belgium |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2007 | Guanshanyue Art Museum | Shenzen, China |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2007 | Leslie Sacks Gallery | Brentwood, CA, USA |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2007 | Copenhagen Art Gallery | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2007 | Patrick Heide Contemporary Art | London, England, UK |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2007 | Giudecca795 Galleria d'Arte | Venice, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2006 | Montecarlo Art Gallery | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2006 | Fondazione Palazzo Bricherasio | Turin, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2006 | Galleria Valeria Bella Stampe | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2004 | Arte 92 | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2004 | Ikos | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2003 | Museo Comunale di Ascona | Ascona, Switzerland |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2003 | Leslie Sacks Gallery | Brentwood, CA, USA |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2003 | Galerie Patrick Gramer | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2002 | Galleria Recalcati | Turin, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2002 | Copenhagen Art Gallery | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 2002 | Galleria Cafisco | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1999 | Wickiser Gallery | New York, NY, USA |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1999 | Galerie Patrick Gramer | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1998 | Galleria Cafisco | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1997 | Cappella di Villa Ruffolo | Ravello, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1996 | Galleria Arte Borgogna | Milan, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1996 | Galleria Kontraste | Forte dei Marmi, Italy |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1991 | Baik Song Gallery | Seoul, South Korea |
| Minjung Kim Solo Exhibition | 1991 | Injae Art Museum | Gwangju, South Korea |
Festival exhibitions
| Artwork | Festival | Dates | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhere over the yellow sea: 4th annual Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale[7] | August 30, 2025 - October 31, 2025 | Jeollanam-do, South Korea | |
| Traces | Art Basel Unlimited 2024[34] | Basel, Switzerland | |
| 14th Gwanju Biennale | April 7 - July 9, 2023 | Gwangju, South Korea | |
| Enter Art Fair 2022 [35] | August 24 – 27 2023[36] | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| Enter Art Fair 2021[35] | August 25 – 28, 2022[37] | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| Imagined Borders: 12th Gwangju Biennale 2018 | September 7 – November 11, 2018 | Gwangju, South Korea | |
| The Balance of Non-Sculpting | Changwon Sculpture Biennale 2018 | 4 September - 14 October 2018 | Chanwon, South Korea |
| The Light, The Shade, The Depth | 2015 Venice Biennale[14] | May 9 – November 22, 2015 | Venice, Italy |