Kim,Hyun-Jung Official Site - PRESS

PRESS

Korean artist Kim Hyun-Jung who aims 'coyness coordinating with society, art keeping in tune with the public' is introduced to domestic and foreign media by active work.

[The Art Gorgeous]FOR THE STYLE INFUSED ART SCENE, Oct.

2023 / 12 / 02 / 18:02:18157 view

[Artist Kim Hyun-Jung]THE ART GORGEOUS-For The Style Infused ART Scene 2016 October

http://www.theartgorgeous.com/style-talk-kim-hyun-jung/

KIM HYUN JUNG
October 11, 2016
Miss Kim From Seoul
Artist, Seoul

Known as the idol in the world of Korean painting, the artist Kim Hyun Jung surely has captured people’s attention by introducing new genre in K-art. The 10th solo exhibition that was held in Korea was remarkable and exceptional in terms of popularity, with the number of visitors reaching almost 70 thousands in total. The secret behind this is not only related to her techniques and style, but to her personal yet common stories in and outside the artworks that the young generation can relate to.

My ideal working outfit looks like…
I enjoy wearing pretty clothes. As I spend more than half of the time in my studio every day, I feel like it is a waste to keep beautiful clothes in the closet all the time worrying that the ink will splash. When I happen to go out with ink-stained clothes, I just be overly chatty and say “I have been drawing you know” to my friends.
Heels or flats… Which brand or style…
I often wear high heels because I have a complex about being short and want to be taller even a little bit. I prefer pumps which are comfortable with sturdy front and back heels.

The reason why you wear and draw Korean traditional clothes Han Bok is…
Han Bok is Korean traditional clothes that are worn in the formal situation. People do not wear it in our everyday life anymore. So through the contrast of wearing classical clothes and behaving ordinarily and naturally, I can effectively deliver the sense of subject ‘coyness’. The contrast between ‘formality’ and ‘daily life’ become a medium to be compared with ‘coyness’ which is the contract of human’s inside and outside.
Han Bok has high concealing quality as it has many layers and the dress is long and wide, but by drawing a subject who acts transparently even with Han Bok on, I aim to dramatically induce audiences’ mentality by letting them to see through the subject’s coyness. The more you hide, the funnier it is to guess out what one is thinking at the bottom. Although this functional reason is big, the fact that I personally admire Han Bok’s lines, colors, patterns, and accessories also be-came a significant reason why I chose to wear and draw Han Bok.

My favorite art-related blog/app is…
Pinterest. Google provides enormous images that even a term ‘googling’ was created, but as there are too much information available, it often together provides unnecessary images. In contrast ‘pinterest’ shows most appropriate and accurate images based on the key words, so it was more satisfactory. Also since there are more materials from abroad than from Korea, I feel like I am travelling when I am looking at those images, which makes me happier.
What motivates you to actively engage in Social Media?
By managing Facebook and blog by myself, I could better communicate with audience which before it was only possible through exhibitions. More recently I am trying to make the communication both sided by using messenger and SNS. I could actually meet more people through internet and get unexpected ideas from the conversation. It now became part of my work.
The last thing I bought and loved was…
It would be a life Han Bok that I purchased from Ccomaque. Full flowing skirt and simpler life Han Bok is made to comfortably wear during daily life, so I wear a lot in my ordinary days. I especially wear more often during summer, as the traditional ones look much better with many layers and thus not suitable for summer. So I often wear modernized Han Bok which is made of light materials and is transformed to a modern design to allow it to be both comfortable and beautiful.

Most ridiculous thing I ever bought…
I instead have ridiculous experience after purchasing. It was a traditional Korean paper made with traditional process by a master artisan, which was very expensive. The paper was ripped off once I opened the paper to draw, so I had to throw away even before using it properly.
My necessary extravagance is…
I put a lot of attention to Han Bok accessories to wear beautifully with Han Bok. Among those my necessary extravagance would be flower shoes from artisan. Not long ago the artisan passed away, so the flower shoes I have now was the last work by him. Now the shoes became a priceless treasure.
Three things/products I always need to have in my purse…
Sketchbook, Ipad, and mirror.
Sketchbook is a necessity to all artists. When I have sudden ideas or have a quote that I want to remember, I record it in my book.
Secondly, it is Ipad. I come across circumstances where I need to introduce my work and portfolio to other people. It is an efficient item that allows me to store information that cannot even be covered in a thick book and carry around easily. Also I can move the ideas that I jotted down in my sketchbook easily to change it to digital work.
Lastly, mirror. As my work is to express human figure, I have a habit of observing figure’s facial expression and muscles based on the movement. I think it is a habit caused from my desire to draw figures better. When I am with other people I can observe them, but when I am alone I observe myself by making different faces.

My ultimate beauty secret after long working hours…
My beauty secret is facial mask. Staying all day in studio makes my face dry quickly. I tried a lot of cosmetic products and folk remedies, but there was nothing good as a facial mask. My loving facial mask and ‘PandaKorea’ once collaborated and produced mask package <Coyness: same bed, different dreams>.
My favourite merge of the art- and fashion world…
The work from Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton. Usually the most difficult part of a collaboration is to bring out beauty while balancing with each other. But for this collaboration the artist’s color was clearly expressed while keeping the company’s identity. Also it was not just a simple merge, but a merge that also positively influenced the sales of the company.
My most admired art world influencer…
I would like to pick director Bartomeu Mari Ribas from National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA). He is a reputable director who worked as a curator of Spain Pavilion in Venice Biennale and worked under Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona from 2008 to 2015 as Director.
In the art world currently I find most exciting that…
I was most excited in my solo exhibition ‘Coyness Theme Park’ which happened this year in March and April. The exhibition recorded daily visit of 5,026 and total visit of 67,402. As it was a big exhibition which use four floors of whole building, the preparation time was long and my worries and concerns were big. But due to people’s love and attention I could make such a big achievement during the one month. Even by recalling the memories makes my heart beat faster.

Art makes me…
Complete. Makes me Breathe.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
I am often inspired from daily life. ‘Coyness’ also can be called as 21st century genre painting which is based on my daily life. Among all SNS is a great method to look through the daily life of young generation. I sometimes get work materials from interesting stories that are on Instagram or Facebook.
The most arty city is…
I feel like Seoul which the past and the present exist together is the most artistic city in the world. Especially Bukchon Hanok Village and Gyeong Bok Gung Palace that are located between tall buildings touch my heart.
The perfect art-world gentlemen is…
My idol Do Ho Suh. The Artist Suh expresses difficult topics such as ‘Home within Home’ and ‘Karma’ in familiar and witty way while showing excellent techniques. Also I admire him as he became internationally influential by recreating Korean traditional forms. He sometimes use fabric of Han Bok to express Korean style house, which I think it will be interesting if a subject that I drew is doing something inside the house with Han Bok on.
Artist(s) we should have on our watchlist is/are…
Kim Hyun Jung? I am always working hard so please keep an eye on me!

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[Artist Hyun-Jung Kim] THE SOOKMYUNG TIMES MAGAZIN

2023 / 12 / 02 / 17:11:15116 view

[Sookmyeong Times] Sep. Issue| No. 307| Featured Artist Interview

Everyone Has Faux-Naif

Think about oriental painting. What comes to mind? Scenes of mountains? A bird sitting on a branch? Perhaps even an orchid? One young oriental drawing artist who drew a woman wearing Hanbok sitting on a chair focused on her I-Pad quite differs from normal images of oriental paintings, right? Kim Hyun Jung (KIM) is this artist of a different colour. She has drawn lots of paintings and calls them the Series of Faux-Naif (in Korean (Nae-sung). The Sookmyung Times (SMT) met up with her to uncover secrets behind her Series of Faux-Naif.

SMT Your paintings differ greatly from other oriental paintings. I wonder what sparked your unique oriental painting style, in particular the Series of Faux-Naif.

KIM Personally, I don’t feel the Series of Faux-Naif to be unlike more traditional oriental paintings. I was trying to express myself in the paintings. As a student I was concerned a lot about how others saw me. I lived life, not according to my wants, but trying to look for others. The eyes of others became the standard of my life, and I suffered for it. Because I pursued life according to others’ view of me lost the inner me. I often wondered who I was. It was during those days that
I began the Series of Faux-Naif. At first, I started to make caricatures of Faux-Naif people. However, as I drew, I realized I resembled those people in my works, so I started to draw caricatures of myself. The Series of Faux-Naif is not only a reflection of outward self, but also my desire to escape from the eyes of others and social convention.

SMT When I first heard about the Series of Faux-Naif, I pondered the meaning of Faux-Naif. Can the word Faux-Naif in your painting be the
same term with the word used in daily life?

KIM In my work, Faux-Naif is a concept wider than more commonly used connotation. For me, it entails every action that is different from what I have in mind. A Faux-Naif person is on that pretends to be shy. The word Faux-Naif is a term applied mostly to women, but I think it can have a wider usage. It is just a discrepancy between the desire to be accepted from others and to hide what I cannot do well. Actually, instinct is what compels us to behave a certain way.

SMT You have drawn lots of paintings and held numerous exhibitions including a showcase at the Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival (ASYAAF). Do you have a drawing that is most precious to you?

KIM My first piece in the Series of Faux-Naif Narcissus is very dear to me. It was my very first Faux-Naif painting. I drew it to express the moment a woman
immerses herself in eye makeup in front of a small hand mirror. I won the Gold Prize in Oriental Painting at the 12th Korea Women’s Grand Art Exhibition
with the piece. So Narcissus means a lot to me. Also, Familiar but Unfamiliar is important and precious as well. As I told you just before, at first my Faux-Naif style paintings were caricatures of other people. However, Familiar but Unfamiliar is the painting that started me down my path of creating selfportrait caricature works. Two women in the painting hold game consoles, but are not engaged in the game. I tried to express the times when people feel familiar yet unfamiliar with others. After this piece, I began seriously working on the Series of Faux-Naif with a focus on myself.

SMT From whom or what do you get inspiration mostly?

KIM Inspiration for my drawings usually comes from my life. Because the Series of Faux-Naif is self-portrait based, my ideas came from my daily life. Also, communication with my audience or fan base through SNS is important. I upload posts on my blog and Facebook.
Through the Internet, I can meet a variety of people, learn, and be inspired by unexpected ideas.

SMT From whom or what do you get inspiration mostly?

KIM Inspiration for my drawings usually comes from my life. Because the Series of Faux-Naif is self-portrait based, my ideas came from my daily life.
Also, communication with my audience or fan base through SNS is important. I upload posts on my blog and Facebook.
Through the Internet, I can meet a variety of people, learn, and be inspired by unexpected ideas.

SMT Your paintings have soared in popularity. The art world credits your years of experience. However, you are much younger than other Oriental drawing artists. I am curious as to the keys to your success.

KIM It’s true my paintings sold out in just two days, but there is no special key. I never drew with the intent of making money. I drew because I drew.
It’s who I am. Buyers of my work often say my work is easy to understand and is unique. Also, lots of people have seen my work on SNS, so I can’t deny that
SNS has helped my popularity. I think an artist must communicate with his/her audience through the paintings.
The most important thing in my mind as I paint is sympathy. If the voice of the artist is conveyed to the audience, the audience will feel comfortable being in the gallery. When people feel comfortable they sympathize with an art piece more easily.

SMT Besides private exhibitions, what else would you like to do in the future?

KIM I hope to be known as an artist who communicates with her public. Also, I am interested in showing the Series of Faux-Naif through installation art and video.
By visualizing and touching my Series of Faux-Naif, people will accept Faux-Naif more intuitionally and directly. So, I have started to learn sculpture, which
was not my major. I keep considering new topics. At the moment, though, I feel really happy holding exhibitions, so I would like to maintain this life style
for a bit longer. Having said that, I am studying and putting on exhibitions continuously. My ultimate goal is to establish authority in this field and make
art something everyone enjoys. Also, I hope to become a traditional culture preacher who explains Korean traditional culture thought art.

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[Artist Hyun-Jung Kim]ELOQUENCE MAGAZIN

2023 / 12 / 02 / 17:11:15128 view

[Eloquence] Sep. Issue| No. 67| Artist by Artistry

When people think about Hanbok, a traditional Korean outfit, they have certain expectations. Hyunjung Kim deliberately defies those expectations by painting a picture that shows Hanbok in an unstressed everyday-life manner. Responsible for an ironically even lovelier look is probably the designer's own persona, a modern Korean woman who enjoys shopping and can't live without her phone. Eloquence met the young, witty artist for an insightful chat.

Hanbok elements play a significant role in your work. How did that come about?
The most important function of the hanbok is to highlight 'the impact of common expectations'. The series Feign started with my personal thoughts about false assumptions and people who act differently on the inside and the outside, and I'm slowly developing that into a more personal confession and a general statement undermining stereotypes. The works depict delicate garments that are usually worn to festive occasions, in rather atypical, often humorous situations, as well as in combination with modern items that take away the entitlement to judge. These contrasts are, of course, present in other outfits, but I really do pattern and accessories of the Korean hanbok. Those unique attributes are more than enough to spark my expressiveness as an artist.

Your paintings often depict women’s two-sideness. Is there something being ‘feigned’ there?
If you look up the word ‘feign’ it will say something like, ‘acting shy on the outside, but really being deceptive.’ But, as you can see in your question, most people will naturally associate the word ‘feign’ with the picture of a woman, even though it is, of course free of gender. While I do agree that it is an expression that in our society suits a woman better than a man, I don’t think that it is an exclusively female characteristic. I think that it is a rather common social urge of people to gain confirmation from one another and hide personal weaknesses that result in ‘discordance;. Sometimes it appears almost instinctively, but I also believe that people will sacrifice part of their own selves, their own identities for social convenience. While I planned Feign as an expression of dissatisfaction with pretentious people and a desire for pictorial expression, it has now become a psychological and philosophical topic for me.

The pieces that show nude body parts underneath the hanbok are particularly memorable. They could be interpreted sexually.
I often think that women have to hide their inherent desires and true nature more than men. As mentioned before, I think that pretention is more connected to women and frankly, I think that it is reality. There’s a part of me that chose to draw women because I’ve experienced such things first-hand. However, the nudity is there to express that people wear clothes only to adorn themselves, to show that they have a clean core. It’s a very important element. The viewer can see through the half transparent textile the essence of the person, and the silhouettes to indicate the character’s possibility to reach that core. Seen from the ‘female’s essential core’ in my paintings, could one really think I was sending a sexual message?

The Feign series is fairly well known, but what other works have you previously done?
The Feign series can be seen entirely as a study of my own personality. Before that I was preparing for that process of searching. I,E, my own version of The Thinker. When I was in that self-defining of elements of Korean beauty make me nod along to his insightful explanations. I would like to take our art, our hanboks and hanji (Korean traditional paper) and present their subtle beauty proudly all over the world. And Takashi Murakmi is an artist whose works have taught me that art can coexist with capitalistic industrialization and still be a part of our everyday lives. One of my dream is to see art being as much a part of everybody’s life as music, to see it being a base for joy that anybody can easily pick up. He showed me that art can become a way to nestle on industrialized territory.

It seems as if one can see your own lifestyle depicted in your works. What kind of person are you?
That’s something I would completely leave up to the spectator. I actually like shopping and very lively things, but on the other hand I enjoy being by myself and like any other artist I am a rather emotional person This might be the right time to unburden myself – as a girl who likes lively things – from something I’d like to say about the expression ‘drawing (spoiled) girl.’ I think that it is denigrating and suppressing women’s hopes of a bright and vivid life. Everybody has those desires, not just women. I would like to see more confidence and acceptance of people’s tastes and preferences. That’s one of the things I realized about myself during my working process.

What kind of artist would like to be come?
I would like to be an artist who scratches people where it itches. I usually answer this question with, ‘artists are people who express other people’ desires’. Artists are more sensitive and emotionally charged than other people. They are able to express what others might not be able to understand in the first place or issues they can identify with but don’t know how to let out. Artists are professional. I try to be a sensitive, worldly person, interactive and keen on life.

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[Artist Hyun-Jung Kim] Hanyootong(韓遊通) Four Young Artists promote Korean Painting in the world

2023 / 12 / 02 / 17:11:15205 view

[Hanyoutong] Four Young Artists promote Korean Painting in the world

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[Artist Hyun-Jung Kim] Korean Cultural Centers Germany

2023 / 12 / 02 / 17:11:15150 view

Invitational Exhibition [21 Century’s Genre Painting the Story of Prudery] Korean Cultural Centers Germany, Berlin, Germany

[Artist Hyun-Jung Kim] Korean Cultural Centers Germany "21 Century’s Genre Painting the Story of Prudery"

GESCHICHTE DER VORGETÄUSCHTEN UNSCHULD

AUSSTELLUNG VON KIM HYUN JUNG
19.05.25.06.2016
VERNISSAGE IN ANWESENHEIT DES KÜNSTLERS
AM 19.05.2016 UM 18.00 UHR

EINTRITT FREI.
KOREANISCHES KULTURZENTRUM

AUSSTELLUNG VON KIM HYUN JUNG

In Korea, das von der Philosophie des Konfuzianismus geprägt ist, wurde
traditionell die Zurschaustellung des eigenen „Verlangens“ abgelehnt,
aber heute wird es ganz oen gezeigt. Auch im Werk Kim Hyun Jungs
ndet sich diese Strömung. Die Menschen der Gegenwart, die ihr Verlangen
ausleben und es oen zeigen, präsentiert sie in Form des „Mädchens mit
der vorgetäuschten Unschuld“. Das Mädchen, das einen Hanbok, ein
traditionelles Kleidungsstück, trägt, umgibt sich mit modernen Alltagsgegenständen
und legt ein freimütiges Verhalten an den Tag, wie es mit
traditionellen Vorstellungen von der Weiblichkeit völlig unvereinbar ist.
Die Künstlerin bezeichnet dies als „vorgetäuschte Unschuld“, bei der die
Protagonistin dabei ertappt wird, wie sie ihr Verlangen entweder bewusst
oen zeigt oder es zumindest nicht verbirgt. Dieses Bild passt zwar nicht
zum Verhaltenskodex der traditionellen Gesellschaft, aber es ist ein Gefühl,
das wir alle kennen. Dabei handelt es sich um eine ehrliche Darstellung, die
den Großteil der Menschen betrit, die ihre verborgenen Begierden oen
nach außen tragen. Indem die Künstlerin ein solch widersprüchliches
Verhalten der „vorgetäuschten Unschuld“ auf humorvolle und manchmal
schrille Weise porträtiert, kann es passieren, dass sie damit Unbehagen
auslöst. Gleichzeitig erreicht sie bei der Betrachterin oder dem Betrachter
ein Verstehen und eine Erkenntnis, die Euphorie auslösen.
Zugleich verschmilzt sie in ihren Bildern Erscheinungen des modernen
Zeitalters mit der gesellschaftlichen Situation im heutigen Korea. Deshalb
können sich viele Menschen mit den Arbeiten Kims identizieren. Sie
stehen für die andere Identität Koreas.
Der Orientalismus ist immer noch der weitere Kontext, in dem die Länder
des fernen Ostens gesehen werden. Diese verzerrte Perspektive auf den
fernen Osten sorgt dafür, dass er nach wie vor mystiziert wird und dass
sich diese Sichtweise zu einer Gewalt entwickelt, die die Realität verkennt.
Kim Hyun Jung zerstört in ihrem Werk existierende einseitige Vorurteile
und präsentiert ein neues Bild vom fernen Osten. Ihren Arbeiten wohnt die
Kraft einer Erzählung inne, in die nicht nur formale Seiten wie die
koreanische Malerei einießen, sondern auf ganz natürliche Weise auch
das Bild der modernen Gesellschaft. Das Verhalten der „vorgetäuschten
Unschuld“ wird abweichend von traditionellen Abbildungen auf
erfrischende und neue Weise gezeigt.

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