Heryun Kim Korea, b. 1964

Heryun Kim is an artist who has consistently explored the nature, humanity, and historical identity through her paintings. She majored in German Language & Literature and Art Theory at Seoul National University, then studied painting at the Berlin University of the Arts in Germany, and received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Berlin University of Technology. In 1997, she encountered Caravaggio’s works in Rome, which significantly influenced her artistic approach, leading to a series of oil paintings with dark backgrounds, such as <Autumn Apple>(2007). Upon returning to Korea, she began depicting historical boundaries such as the Imjin River and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), interpreting Korean identity through lyrical colors and brushstrokes. In 2014, she encountered <The Statue of Savior Kannon> and <The Statue of Kudara Kannon> at Horyu-ji Temple in Nara, Japan, which invoked her interest in ancient Korean and prehistoric art. This inspiration led to works such as <My Neolithic>(2018) and <Art and Code-Gojoseon>(2019), in which she redefined  Korean patterns and history using a contemporary formative language.

One of her major series, <Sound of Silence>, originates from her perception of nature not as a simple landscape but as a collection of sensory experiences. Her personal experience of hearing the ‘sound of silence’ during her communion with nature in her Berlin studio became the basis for this series. This represents profound and majestic sound of life created by vast nature when human voices and distractions fade. She seeks to connect nature and the inner world of humanity by embodying this experience in her paintings. This led to her solo exhibition 《Sound of Silence- German Forest》 at Kunsthalle Dresden in Germany in 2019. Later, drawing inspiration from the Bangudae historic site in Korea, she continued her sensory exploration of nature and historical places by creating the <Sound of Silence - Bangudae> series.

Heryun Kim’s artistic world traverses various cultural elements and historical themes, continuously expanding through profound exploration and experimental approach. Her works are not only aesthetically beautiful but also embody symbolic and philosophical messages. In particular, she reinterprets Korean traditional art and ancient culture through contemporary perspective, transforming them into a new formative language then placing them within a modern context. Her works act as a bridge connecting ancient and modern times, as well as Eastern and Western cultures and histories. They carry significance as cultural intersection, going beyond mere artistic expression. Her major solo exhibitions include 《Shoes for Art》(2005, Stadtmuseum Berlin Ephraim-Palais, Berlin), 《Letters Carved on Painting》(2011, Soma Museum, Seoul), and 《Sound of Silence - German Forest》(2019, Kunsthalle Dresden, Dresden), among others. Her works are housed in the collections of prominent international institutions such as the East Asian Art Collection at the Humboldt Forum Berlin, the Berlin Central and Regional Library Foundation, Volksbank Neumünster (Germany), the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Germany, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Türkiye, and the Fondation Louis Vuitton (France). In Korea, her works are housed in major public collections including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Jeju Museum of Art, and Jeongok Prehistory Museum.