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MINKU KIM

김민구

b.1989, Seoul, Korea. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY


Minku KimL.E.P. (Gator Swamp), 2019Oil on Canvas Board7 x 5 in Minku KimS.E.P. (Luis Barragan), 2020Oil and acrylic on canvas60 x 48 in152.4 x 121.9 cm Minku KimS.E.P. (Gansbaai Sharks), 2018-20Oil on canvas48 x 36 in121.9 x 91.4 cm Minku KimS.E.P. (Magic Sunset), 2019-20Oil on wood panel14 x 11 in35.6 x 27.9 cm Minku KimS.E.P. (Traditional Korea), 2018-19Oil on canvas board7 x 5 in17.8 x 12.7 cm(framed) 12 1/2 x 10 1/2 in31.75 x 26.7 cm


Minku Kim is a painter who lives and works in New York City. He was recently the subject of a solo exhibition, ‘Foundation’ at Alexander Berggruen Gallery in Upper East Side, New York, and ’Straight Edge Painting’ at Helen J Gallery in Hollywood, CA. His solo shows include exhibitions at Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA and his paintings have been exhibited in international art fairs such as Art Basel Miami, Park Avenue Armory in New York, and FOG Art and Design in San Francisco, Dallas Art Fair in Texas. Kim’s work has been collected by numerous prestigious private collections in New York, San Francisco, London, Amsterdam, Brussel, and around the world. Currently, Kim is working on his first publication of ‘Straight Edge Paintings (2016-2020)’ He earned his MFA in Sculpture from New York Studio School in 2017 and BFA in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2012. He attended the Cooper Union Outreach Program, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Summer Seminar, and the New York School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture.

The colors of his paintings reference the feeling of seeing a Korean hanbok, a traditional garment worn during festivals and festivities. Hanboks are often crafted using Obangsaek, a five-color palette of red, yellow, white, black, and blue, which has significant cultural significance in Korea. This vibrant color palette not only embodies the essence of hanboks but also profoundly impacts many of his artworks, whereby the symbolic and visual meaning of Obangsaek is meticulously woven into the fabric of his creative expression. By integrating three or more of these Obangsaek hues, he attains a heightened feeling of significance and Korean identity.

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“Each work stands as an amalgamation of specific memories, experiences and feelings. They are in ways both extremely specific and quite generic or universal.” 



Exhibitions