SANG WOO KIM

Working with media that range from painting to installation, Kim builds up and breaks down boundaries to create a visual ‘skin’ composed of nostalgia and recollections. His work suggests that the gaze comes from within and is tied to one’s identity: until one can cultivate it, one will always view oneself and the world self-consciously. Identity takes on new connotations in the modern social media world, where one’s persona is a multi-layered construct and can be created out of thin air.

The question inherent in Kim’s work is what constitutes identity and how much of it is ‘real?’ Although all his work is autobiographical, Kim has only recently started painting self-portraits. As a fashion model, he is used to being gazed upon and seen through the lens of someone else’s vision, so self-portraiture is a way of reclaiming his identity, being, and existence. He thus addresses the notions of perception, seeing and being seen, the subject and the voyeur. Through his multidisciplinary practice, Kim prompts greater awareness about how we engage and interpret the world around us.

Kim’s selected group exhibitions include: ‘Artissima 2023,’ Galerie Sebastien Bertrand, Genève, Switzerland (2023); ‘Welcome to my Melancholy,’ Galerie Supermarkt, Tokyo, Japan (2023); ‘All The Small Things,’ Soup Gallery, London, UK (2023); ‘Goosebumps,’ Anthony Gallery, Chicago IL (2023); ‘Outside of History,’ THEWHOGALLERY, London, UK (2023); and ‘Daisies,’ Pleasewait Gallery, Paris, France (2022).

Text courtesy Hauser & Wirth