My painting practice begins with a fascination for the moment when familiar things become strange, opening up new ways of seeing the world. Drawing on childhood memories and everyday encounters, I explore how images can move beyond their familiar meanings and take on unexpected possibilities.
Cows frequently appear in my paintings, originating from childhood journeys through the Korean countryside. Growing up in Seoul, I remember encountering them as unusually large, still and mysterious, evoking both curiosity and unease. These impressions continue to shape my work, alongside images gathered from different places and experiences.
I approach painting with a sense of play, layering, distorting and rearranging images without a predetermined narrative. When unexpected relationships emerge, I follow them intuitively, often introducing further elements to see where they might lead. Through this process, familiar subjects become unfamiliar again, carrying a mixture of tenderness, humour and unease.
I continue working until these seemingly unrelated images find their own atmosphere and balance. Rather than reconstructing the past, I see painting as a way of rediscovering a sense of wonder, allowing the familiar world to remain strange, open and full of possibility.
Seungyeon Kim
seungyeonkimart1638@gmail.com
@seungyeonkim_art
Royal College of Art (UK) MA Painting
2025-2026
Kookmin University (KR)
BFA Fine Art
2020-2026
Solo Shows
Below to Above, Project Space Queue, Seoul, Korea
2024
A Picture is an Image, Open Studio, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
2024
2024
An Ideal Algorithm to you, Kookmin University Art Hall, Seoul, Korea
2023
A Temporary Moderation in This World, Kookmin University Art Hall, Seoul, Korea
2023
Hall, Seoul, Korea
2023
Variable Sequence, Art B Project, Seoul, Korea
2023
20/21, Kookmin University Art Hall, Seoul, Korea