HRD FINE ART

Introduction

HRD Fine Art is pleased to announce an opening of Korean artist Yunseob Kim's solo exhibition titled "Types of Caps." This exhibition is a first overseas solo presentation of the artist, who has extensively exhibited and participated in many residency programs inside Korea.

Kim was born in Cheongju City in central Korea. At university he studied cartoon art, but as an artist he has almost exclusively used painting and drawing as his media of creation. Kim's recent work includes a series of paintings called "Old School," in which he creates oil paintings based on black and white photographs capturing masters of Western modern art, and the "billiard" series, a group of paintings collectively installed to recreate/imitate an actual old billiard room.

The title of the forthcoming exhibition in Kyoto, "Types of Caps," refers to many different types of caps or hats that represent the wearer's social status, position, taste, or profession. Kim draws a metaphorical analogy between caps/hats and paintings, in the sense that both have diverse forms and shapes as well as functions. Through this metaphor, Kim's seemingly simple paintings attain a thick, multilayered structure. In addition, in all of Kim's works we recognize fundamental dichotomies such as drawing vs. painting, Eastern culture vs. Western culture, etc., and as a result, they possess intriguing depth and vibration.

Enchanted by painting and wrestling with painting, Yunseob Kim's creation is as humorous as it is solemn and serious.