Painter Yoonseob Kim opened his solo exhibition at Gallery Giwa (B1, Shinhwa Building, 3 Sapyeong-daero 20-gil) on the 13th, and the show will continue through the 19th.
Kim first majored in comic animation during his university years, and later expanded his interests into painting,
installation art, and even audiobooks and fiction reading as part of his daily creative routine.
These cross-media habits form the foundation of his artistic inspiration and planning process, shaping the distinctive creative language that defines his work.
Kim’s practice explores how reading, imagination, and narrative experience influence visual art.
He also has a unique routine: listening to audiobooks while running.
“Listening to music gets repetitive for me. These days, I run while listening to novels, and that atmosphere often influences my oil paintings. Images and emotions from the stories settle like an underlayer, and they reappear as I paint.”
One of the recent works influenced by this habit is his project inspired by the sci-fi novel “Project Hail Mary.”
“It’s a story about an alien and a human forming a bond in order to survive. Even without speaking the same language, they play, interact, and build trust. That kind of emotional exchange stayed with me, and it naturally seeped into my work.”
Kim’s paintings also reflect a sense of longing for pictorial structures that fragmented after postmodernism.
“In contemporary art, narratives often disappear, leaving only the formal elements behind. I wanted to reassemble those broken parts and re-preserve an older form of painterly storytelling. That’s how my ‘Old School Series’ began.”
For Kim, narrative is not merely a device for telling stories—it’s a bridge that connects surreal fantasy with reality.
“I believe a painting should capture how the past and present, the self and the outside world, influence each other. That’s why the surreal sense of time and atmosphere I find in novels appears in my work.”
He also draws inspiration from subculture and gaming.
painter yunseoub kim from south korea
“Sometimes I write poems using game item names, or transform those elements into visual motifs. I enjoy weaving ordinary cultural codes into my work.”
Rather than focusing on specifically Korean motifs, his work stems from personal narratives and global cultural influences.
“Korean imagery is fascinating, but I grew up immersed in Western art history and culture. Naturally, that influence shaped my practice. In the future, I want to blend personal storytelling with subcultural references even more intentionally.”
Kim acknowledges the challenges he faced.
“As someone who didn’t major in painting but came from animation, I lacked access to networks and institutional support. It wasn’t easy to keep going while building relationships and finding my own path.”
But his overseas exhibition experiences have been encouraging.
“When I showed my work in Hokkaido, viewers engaged deeply and asked a lot of questions. It was a very different kind of interaction compared to Korea.”
Ultimately, Kim emphasizes the materiality and purity of painting, aiming to amplify the essential artistic experience.
“The beauty of imagery and the tactile quality of paint are central to my work. I don’t want painting to become just decoration or a commercial product. It should remain a medium that delivers sensory experiences and sparks imagination.”
Looking ahead, Kim plans to continue experimenting with narrative-driven, imaginative forms—expanding his distinctive universe where reading, imagination, personal history, and global culture intertwine.
