- Na Kim is a graphic designer with excellent taste, an artist who has already established a solid reputation with regard to her ability; and her creative ideas shatter the traditional boundary between graphic design and art.
Na Kim, b.1979
Education
2008
M.F.A. Werkplaats Typografie, NE
2005
M.F.A. Hongik University, Seoul, KR
2001
Product design, KAIST, Seoul, KR
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2023
TESTER, DOOSAN Gallery, Seoul, KR
2021
OUTSIDE IN: FFC on 6, 7, 8, ICA, Philadelphia, US
2020
Transitory Workplace, 56, A to Z, Berlin, DE
Bottomless Bag, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
2019
SET v.19, Curatorial Research Bureau, San Francisco, US
Black and White, FISK Gallery, Portland, US
Extended Abstracts, Non-Breaking Space, Seattle, US
2017
Red, Yellow, Blue, RIOT, Ghent, BE
2015
SET, DOOSAN Gallery New York, New York, US
2014
Choice Specimen, DOOSAN Gallery, Seoul, KR
2011
Found Abstracts, Gallery Factory, Seoul, KR
2006
Fragile, BMH, Seoul, KR
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022
Framing Spaces, einBuch.haus, Berlin, DE
2021
Graphic.Designers.Collectors, A to Z, Berlin, DE
S&D#025, 019gent, Gent, BE
2020
DK Festival 2020: K Designer, KIDP, Seoul, KR
2019
The Politics of Ornament, Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Lisbon, PT
Humanity for Next Generation, Gwangju Design Biennale, Gwangju, KR
SET v.17, Us By Night 4, Antwerpen, BE
Typojanchi: Seoul International Typography Biennale 2019, Culture Station Seoul 284, Seoul, KR
2018
Flags for Le Havre, Une Saison Graphique, Le Havre, FR
Graphic West, ddd gallery, Kyoto, JP
2017
The W Show, SeMA Warehouse, Seoul, KR
Production City, Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Seoul, KR
Korean Design, Die Neue Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, DE
Awards
2014
Today’s Young Artist Award, Presented by the Ministry of Culture in Korea, Seoul, KR
2013
The 4th DOOSAN Yonkang Arts Awards Visual Art, Seoul, KR
2008
Next Generation Design Leaders, Presented by Korea Institute of Design Promotion, Seoul, KR
Jury's Statement
This comprehensive change to the DOOSAN Yonkang Arts Awards review system is intended to allow the DOOSAN Yonkang Arts Awards to more aggressively discover the next generation of promising artists; to become a more competitive artist award; and create a more intensive synergy for DOOSAN’s activities in support of the arts. In line with the preceding goals, the DOOSAN Yonkang Arts Awards review criteria will now put further emphasis on discovering the next generation of promising artists; shed traditional genre classifications; inclusively embrace the full range of art genres; and, above all, give due regard to the experimentation and creativity that will lead the future direction of contemporary art.
The three artist finalists selected for the 4th DOOSAN Yonkang Arts Awards are Na Kim, Jeamin Cha, and Minae Kim. At the outset, in comparison with prior years, the age group of the finalists has become younger. Although Minae Kim (b. 1981), Na Kim (b. 1979), and Jeamin Cha (b. 1986) are all young artists in their late 20s or early 30s, their works and exhibition activities reflect a depth of quantity, high level of realization, and active progression that match, or even surpass, those of more established artists. Another shift in this year’s award involves the individual scopes of the three artists’ art practices. Na Kim is a graphic designer with excellent taste, an artist who has already established a solid reputation with regard to her ability; and her creative ideas shatter the traditional boundary between graphic design and art. Although Jeamin Cha also majored in fine art, she has attempted to create an exquisite connection between performance and video, and has produced artworks that are experimental and innovative with regard to their contents and technical execution. Minae Kim is a sculptor. Recently, “sculptors” have become a rarity; nevertheless, she has established herself as a young sculptor who, while extending the traditional concept of sculpture, strives to interpret reality and provoke its transformation, rather than simply representing it. The deconstructive attitude towards rigid genres, experimental concepts, and defiant spirits of these three artists parallel the issues and the diversity of subjects that they deal with, and collectively propose an alternative direction for contemporary art.
Beginning with this 4th edition, the DOOSAN Yonkang Arts Awards, together with the artists Na Kim, Minae Kim, and Jeamin Cha, hopes to experiment with new energies, challenges, and progressiveness, and to become the most influential art award in the Korean art scene. Additionally, for these three artists, we are eagerly awaiting excellent artworks that will surpass our expectations in their upcoming solo shows in Seoul and New York.
Jury Sungwon Kim, Geun-jun Lim, Yunah Jung