Installation view
of 《The Prayers》 ©Perrotin
Seoul. Photo: Hwang Jung Wook.Perrotin Seoul presents 《The Prayers》, a solo exhibition by Korean
artist Hun Kyu Kim, on view through December 20. Expanding upon the world of
animal collectives that he has long explored, this exhibition sheds new light on
the realms of faith and belief.
Installation view
of 《The Prayers》 ©Perrotin
Seoul. Photo: Hwang Jung Wook.Born in Seoul in 1986, Kim graduated from
the Department of Oriental Painting at Seoul National University. Drawing
inspiration from Goryeo Buddhist paintings and traditional silk-coloring
techniques, he has developed an allegorical visual language that reflects human
desire and contradiction through the depiction of animals. After completing his
MFA at the Royal College of Art in London, Kim has continued to work primarily
in London, presenting a unique painterly world that moves fluidly between Eastern
and Western visual idioms.
Installation view
of 《The Prayers》 ©Perrotin
Seoul. Photo: Hwang Jung Wook.In Kim’s paintings, chaos and order, inside
and outside, one belief and another ceaselessly collide. As viewers engage with
his work, they are prompted to confront fundamental questions about
humanity—What is right? How should we live?
Rather than seeking definitive answers, the
artist persistently reexamines these questions through the act of painting.
Through this exhibition—where color, belief, and pictorial structure
intertwine—viewers are invited to contemplate the symbolic narratives that
compose Kim’s universe, and to reflect on the fragile balance of convictions
that shape our world.
