Born in South Korea in 1962, Minjung Kim studied calligraphy and watercolor painting from an early age and went on to major in oriental painting at Hongik University in Seoul. She then studied abroad at Milan’s Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, and during this time was deeply inspired by artists like Constantin Brâncusi, Carl Andre and Brice Marden. Today, Kim lives and works between New York and the South of France, creating ethereal works that merge the traditional craft of her birthplace with a minimalist and abstract contemporary aesthetic and paper collages.
The artist’s first exhibition in Monaco, Burning Gravity at Sotheby’s Monaco, will present a curated selection of works from her Street, Mountain, Phasing, Sculpture and Order & Impulse series, spanning from 2017 to 2023. All of the works are on Korean hanji paper, exploring the different techniques and materials used in Kim’s work with her favoured medium. Hanji paper is an extension of the artist herself and harks back to memories of playing with scraps of paper in her father’s print shop as a child. It results in harmonious and tranquil compositions, layered over almost translucent paper to create an atmospheric impact.
The Street series is composed of pieces of coloured paper, diced and cut, then delicately burnt on the edges of the paper stripes in a controlled and contemplative manner. The repetitive and meditative process of creating the work is imbued in the final result. The Mountain series was originally inspired by the sound of tides, and is composed of horizontal layers of watercolour or ink that simultaneously resembles undulating waves and distant forested mountains.
The Phasing series initially alludes to the musical term when two instruments play the same part in steady but not identical tempi, which leads to deferments in the musical piece. Minjung Kim introduces those shifts through different layers of paper combined with burning by incense in which overlapping shapes appear staggered or offset.
Kim is represented Almine Rech and over the past two decades has been the subject of solo exhibitions at renowned galleries and museums around the world, including Marco (Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma), Rome (2012); Hermès Foundation, Singapore (2017); White Cube, London (2018); Langen Foundation, Neuss (2019); and Hill Art Foundation, New York (2020). Her works are included in the collections of major institutions such the British Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum, in New York, the Leeum Museum and the OCI Museum in Seoul, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Rhode Island, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey and Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama. The exhibition is open to the public from 21 September to 30 October.
Location
Sotheby's Monaco Gallery
20 Avenue de la Costa, 98000 Monaco
Opening Times
Monday – Friday
10am - 7pm
Saturday
By appointment only
