Euijin Kim
“Light” is an indispensable presence in our lives. This light is the medium that makes our visual activities possible and is the source that allows all life to flourish. Usually, we take this light for granted and perceive it lightly, but in the moment we view it with emotion, we recognise the light of life and become grateful for its existence. The textures and aesthetic qualities of nature, such as humidity, temperature, and scent revealed by light, wield a significant influence on personal formative visual contemplation. I take inspiration from these qualities, and allow these natural elements to permeate and influence my work.
Euijin Kim is a Korean artist based in Seoul, with an artistic practice explores the emotional impact of light and its interaction with a personal, intimate creative process. His work investigates how visual crystallizations formed through this process communicate and establish relationships, both with himself and the viewers. Central to his exploration are themes of healing, recovery, and empathy.
To express these concepts, Kim experiments with relief collage techniques, utilizing Eastern materials such as hanji (traditional Korean paper). His journey began with the composition of basic structures, focusing on balance and transformation through the harmonious interplay of vertical and horizontal elements.
For Euijin Kim, this formative order has evolved into the “texture of nature,” revealed through light and color. Rather than using artificial brushstrokes to create lines, he allows lines to breathe organically, shaping "space" and "area" with his hands.
Kim’s visual contemplation focuses on illuminating the surface of hanji, an Eastern material, with light to evoke impressions of healing inspired by nature. Through the interplay of substance and shadow, his work transitions from a two-dimensional plane to a three-dimensional space. Kim hopes that his visual language—imbued with breath and meaning both by the objects it observes and by himself—will ultimately be defined and established as a “presence.”
Euijin Kim was born in 1999 and graduated from the Department of Oriental Painting at Seoul National University in 2024. He has actively participated in several group exhibitions. In 2023, his works were featured during Seoul National University Arts Week at the Graduate School of Dentistry on Yeongeon Campus, and at the 44th International TAKIFUJI Art Award held at Meiji Kinenkan Wakatake in Tokyo. His work was also exhibited at the 14th SCOUT at Gallery IMAZOO in Seoul in 2024.
Euijin has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Prize for Excellence at the 44th International TAKIFUJI Art Award, presented by the Japan Traffic Culture Association in 2023. In 2024, he was selected for the S.H.A.A Public Art Award, sponsored by Seoul National University Cultural & Arts Center in collaboration with Hyundai Construction, with the award to be officially given later that year.
In terms of public art, Euijin’s work will be permanently displayed and installed at Dunchon Olympic Park Foreon, the largest residential complex in South Korea, in 2024.
