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Selection
Arts and Code Drawing Series
Heryun Kim2025.07.01 ~ 2025.10.13
Description of the work
- Media Pen / pencil and aquarella on paper
- Location LOTTE HOTEL SEOUL MAIN TOWER 1F
Heryun Kim’s artistic practice has continually evolved through deep inquiry and experimental expression, intersecting diverse cultural elements with historical themes. In particular, she reexamines traditional Korean art and ancient culture from a contemporary perspective, transforming them through her distinctive visual language and situating them within the broader discourse of contemporary art.
The works presented here are drawings from her series 《Arts and Code》, inspired by artifacts from prehistoric times through the Goryeo period. These pieces reinterpret the primordial aesthetics of abstract straight and curved patterns found on historical relics, recasting them through a contemporary visual vocabulary. Kim notes that the patterns on objects such as roof tiles, shoes, and mirrors - items that have survived for thousands of years - are not merely decorative. Kim creates a unique abstract language that bridges past and present, offering a renewed interpretation of Korean traditional art and ancient cultural heritage. The series exemplifies her continued commitment to expanding the possibilities of contemporary abstraction while grounding it in history and cultural memory.
Artwork Inquiry 02-747-7736
The works presented here are drawings from her series 《Arts and Code》, inspired by artifacts from prehistoric times through the Goryeo period. These pieces reinterpret the primordial aesthetics of abstract straight and curved patterns found on historical relics, recasting them through a contemporary visual vocabulary. Kim notes that the patterns on objects such as roof tiles, shoes, and mirrors - items that have survived for thousands of years - are not merely decorative. Kim creates a unique abstract language that bridges past and present, offering a renewed interpretation of Korean traditional art and ancient cultural heritage. The series exemplifies her continued commitment to expanding the possibilities of contemporary abstraction while grounding it in history and cultural memory.
Artwork Inquiry 02-747-7736
About the author
Heryun Kim (b.1964) is an artist who studied painting at the Berlin University of the Arts in Germany and earned a Ph.D. in philosophy. She has established a distinctive artistic world that bridges visual art and philosophical inquiry. Drawing on the formative sensibilities found in Korea’s traditional cultural heritage, Kim fuses these with contemporary visual language to create experimental works that explore the intersection of Eastern and Western aesthetics.
The delicate lines layered across the canvas reveal her inner emotions and thoughts through a unique visual vocabulary, offering viewers moments of profound resonance and contemplation. With this performative language, Kim freely crosses the boundaries between tradition and modernity, East and West, and has developed a singular, autonomous artistic voice.
Her solo exhibitions have been held at institutions such as the Stadtmuseum Berlin Ephraim-Palais (2005), SOMA Museum of Art (2011), Kunsthalle Dresden (2019), and OCI Museum (2025). Her works are included in the collections of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in France, Gyeonggi Museum of Art among other institutions.
The delicate lines layered across the canvas reveal her inner emotions and thoughts through a unique visual vocabulary, offering viewers moments of profound resonance and contemplation. With this performative language, Kim freely crosses the boundaries between tradition and modernity, East and West, and has developed a singular, autonomous artistic voice.
Her solo exhibitions have been held at institutions such as the Stadtmuseum Berlin Ephraim-Palais (2005), SOMA Museum of Art (2011), Kunsthalle Dresden (2019), and OCI Museum (2025). Her works are included in the collections of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in France, Gyeonggi Museum of Art among other institutions.
Heryun Kim (1964~, Korea)
Bachelor of German Literature and Language in Seoul National University
Magister of Art Theory in Seoul National University
Absolvent of Painting in Universitaet der Kuenste Berlin
Meisterschuelerin by Prof. Klaus Fussmann
Ph.D. of Kunstwissenschaft by Prof. Dr. Robert Suckale in TU Berlin
Lecturer in Department of Western Painting in Seoul National University
Magister of Art Theory in Seoul National University
Absolvent of Painting in Universitaet der Kuenste Berlin
Meisterschuelerin by Prof. Klaus Fussmann
Ph.D. of Kunstwissenschaft by Prof. Dr. Robert Suckale in TU Berlin
Lecturer in Department of Western Painting in Seoul National University
