Weekly Stitch: Artnet News Interviews With Korean American Art Collector Dow Kim.. and more
Artnet News Interviews With Korean American Art Collector Dow Kim
In Artnet News’ interview with Korean American Dow Kim, the collector revealed his journey into art collecting began in the 1990s. While working as a finance executive in Tokyo, he received news from a colleague about a Japanese art institution selling a number of paintings, which led to his purchase of an original Marc Chagall. Over the years, his tastes have evolved, and he now collects a wide range of Asian and Western contemporary art. Collecting has become an integral part of his life, as he actively participates in international art fairs and auctions as both a buyer and seller and even makes studio visits to build relationships with artists.
In addition to his collecting endeavors, Dow Kim has been involved in various philanthropic activities. He served as a trustee of the Asia Society and founded the Dow Kim Family Foundation in 2018, with a focus on supporting Korean leadership, education, and the arts in the United States. The foundation currently provides financial support to four nonprofit organizations and sponsors the exhibition “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, the 1960s-70s” at the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York, which runs until January 7, 2024. Kim’s collecting enthusiasm received a boost when he attended Frieze Seoul last year, and he believes that Korea is emerging as a significant art center, with many Koreans and Korean Americans starting their own collecting journeys.
Artsy Introduces the Art World of Heejoon Lee
Korean painter Heejoon Lee’s (b. 1988) work has been featured on Artsy. Lee views his abstract oil and photo collage works as platforms that capture new meanings rather than settling on a single interpretation. His art constructs a pictorial space through experimentation, allowing viewers to engage their experiences, memories, and knowledge to generate new meanings through their interactions with the artwork.
Throughout his career, Lee has focused on the urban environment, photographing buildings and integrating them into his art. He explores the city as a “flaneur,” seeking new meanings in everyday objects and places. His work transforms captured elements into abstract geometric forms that conflict with his expressive style, translating the specifics of locations into universal space. Lee’s use of photos informs his unique vision of the urban environment, and in recent works, he has abstracted them into two-dimensional art by painting bold, thick colors in logical, geometric styles, enhancing the sense of space and contrast between painting and digital imagery.
Lee’s abstract spaces engage with the observer’s perspective, oscillating between different concepts of space and place. Lee’s hope is for his images to generate stories for others, allowing viewers to navigate freely and non-linearly, creating a tapestry of shared stories and experiences through his work.
