JUNGWOOK KIM 김정욱 (Seoul, South Korea, b. 1970) Untitled Portrait of a girl with starry eyes Charcoal on paper, laid down on canvas 116cm high, 74cm wide - PROVENANCE: Gallery SKAPE 갤러리 스케이프, Seoul, South Korea; UK Private Collection - Jungwook Kim is primarily known for his sculptures and installations, but he has also created a number of paintings throughout his career. Like his sculptures, Kim's paintings are often highly intricate and multi-layered, exploring themes of memory, identity, and emotion. These elements are often highly stylized and fragmented, creating a dreamlike, surreal quality. Kim's paintings often have a meditative quality, inviting the viewer to get lost in the intricate patterns and explore the emotional and psychological themes they represent. Like his sculptures, Kim's paintings are a testament to the power of art to expressplex ideas and emotions in a visual language that transcends words. Jungwook Kim creates human figures on traditional Korean paper by repeatedly layering ink and using a glue catcher. Her figures take on unconventional forms, with pupils immersed in dense darkness, evoking memories connected to individual experiences. Kim examines how visual memory processes imbue ordinary objects with unique significance. Religious elements frequently appear in her works as metaphors for human existence. Kim's figures, rooted in the tradition of Eastern painting, speak a universal language of emotion and intellect. Employing repetitive brushstrokes and overlaying, the artist embraces all human forms and offers empathy and solace. Jungwook Kim has organized several solo exhibitions, such as at the Kumho Museum of Art in Seoul, and has taken part in multiple group exhibitions, including those held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Gwacheon and the Seoul National University Museum of Art. Kim's artworks are part of collections at esteemed institutions such as Korea's National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul National University Museum of Art, and OCI Museum of Art in Seoul. After graduating from the Department of Oriental Painting at Duksung Women's University, the artist resides and works in Seoul. -