As urban landscapes grow increasingly rigid and human emotions progressively dull, Kim Jong-su asks what remains at the very end.
This fundamental inquiry serves as the foundation for his 33rd solo exhibition, Silent Breath, which runs from April 22 to April 30, 2026, at the Dugo Gallery within the Maru Art Center in Insadong.
This special invitational showcase is not a mere repetition of his established themes but represents a deepening of his contemplation and artistic density regarding his long-standing subject, the "Urban Tree." For years, the artist has placed pine trees against textures that mimic the gray walls of the city, suggesting that these trees are not simply scenery but reflections of the human condition itself.
The urban tree exists differently than its counterparts in the wild, forced to survive within restricted spaces and subjected to pruning and shaping.
Kim translates this condition onto the canvas through rough foundations and pressed, scratched surfaces. His work acts as a record of existence that endures.
A notable shift in this exhibition is the heightened density of material and action, featuring surfaces hardened with stone powder and the more prominent use of his signature "homi" (Korean hand plow) scratching technique.
By treating the canvas as if he were tilling a field, the artist moves beyond simple representation to transfer the actual labor and passage of time onto the pictorial plane.
The artist's recent life in the mountains of Pyeongchang has had a decisive influence on this stylistic evolution, infusing his work with the rhythm of nature as a contrast to urban tension.
His previously monotone palette has become even more restrained and clean, reducing color to prioritize depth.
At the center of the exhibition, his Urban Tree series features pine trees set against intersecting shades of cream and gray.
These trees do not demand attention through aggressive display but exist in a state of suppression; however, it is within this very restraint that a more powerful vitality is felt.
The curves of the trunks are not merely aesthetic shapes but are traces of survival under the pressure of time.
Ultimately, these trees are metaphors for humanity—beings that maintain their positions in silence and refuse to collapse under external pressures.
The artist defines this way of living as a "silent breath." While his previous works often lingered on themes of solitude and tension, this new collection moves toward a state of recovery.
Recognizing that trees heal their pruning wounds with new bark, Kim suggests that human lives also continue to breathe and restore themselves in silence.
The exhibition does not rely on loud declarations but instead demonstrates a quiet, persistent strength.
Kim’s urban trees do not speak; they simply endure and persist, leaving behind the clearest possible evidence of life within their silence.
