Following its successful conclusion, Kiaf SEOUL announced the three final winners of the ‘2025 Kiaf HIGHLIGHTS’: Grim Park (THEO), Nohwan Park (Space Willing N Dealing), and Donghoon Rhee (Gallery SP).
 
First launched in 2023, Kiaf HIGHLIGHTS is a flagship artist support program aimed at offering a deeper look into the artistic practices of promising creators. It also seeks to contribute to building a more sustainable and vibrant art ecosystem beyond the boundaries of the art fair.

In July, 2025 Kiaf HIGHLIGHTS invited each participating gallery to nominate one artist, after which a jury of art professionals—including curators from major museums and independent curators—conducted a fair review process. Under the theme of “Resonance,” the jury selected ten artists considered most deserving of attention today. During the art fair, following close on-site evaluations, three next-generation Korean artists—Grim Park, Nohwan Park, and Donghoon Rhee—were chosen as the final recipients.
 
Represented by THEO Gallery, Grim Park (b. 1987) merges materials and techniques of traditional Korean painting and Buddhist imagery with contemporary visual culture, addressing themes of gender identity, consumerism, and desire. His representative series showcased at the fair, ‘Shimhodo (尋虎圖)’, draws on the Buddhist tale Shimwudo (尋牛圖), or The Search for the Cow, weaves new queer iconographies and allegories by combining Buddhist imagery with personal narratives.

Represented by Space Willing N Dealing, Nohwan Park (b. 1987) conducts material experiments with watercolor and gum arabic—layering, scraping, and rubbing—to foreground sensory impressions over figuration, leaving traces of time across the surface. His paintings, expressed through ambiguous forms and a distinctive materiality, are created through a process of subjective insight, observation, and empathy toward objects encountered in the everyday. This in turn prompts viewers to engage in a deeper, more contemplative act of looking.

Represented by Gallery SP, Donghoon Rhee (b. 1991) creates sculptures and then reinterprets them in painting, unsettling the boundary between two and three dimensions while exploring the relationship between humanity, technology, and nature. The artist presents works that traverse the boundaries of media, reconstructing ever-changing organisms and continuous movements from a unique perspective.
 
The three finalists of the ‘2025 Kiaf HIGHLIGHTS’ will each receive a 10 million KRW creative grant, generously sponsored by COEX, the co-organizer of Kiaf, along with a range of promotional benefits.

References

• 키아프 서울 보도자료 (Kiaf SEOUL Press Release)