20 questions for Hun Kyu Kim
The London-based Korean artist reveals his secret talent, dream dinner party guest, and his overall motivation for creating works
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Hun Kyu Kim is a Korean artist based in London, England. He holds an MA in painting from the Royal College of Art, London, and a BA in Oriental painting from the College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University. His work will be exhibited by High Art during Art Basel Hong Kong.
When did you realize you were an artist?
The day of the Sewol ferry accident, April 16, 2014.
What’s your favorite artwork?
By another artist: Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490 - 1510). And of my own work: Don’t be afraid, my love, pigment on silk, 140 x 100cm (2016).
What was the last exhibition you saw?
My solo exhibition, ‘Pure War’ at High Art.
What keeps you awake at night?
My neighbor’s cat, Rio. He keeps asking me to open my window.
What’s your happy place?
My art studio.
Who’s your greatest influence?
Miyazaki Hayao.
What do you like to do when you’re not in the studio?
Go fishing at the lake.
What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?
I want to be a farmer someday.
What's your secret talent?
Taxidermy.
What’s your strangest possession?
A taxidermy lamb’s head.
What was your first artwork?
I drew a tiger when I was 6 years old.
Describe yourself in five words?
Artist, workaholic, paranoiac, oath keeper and fat raccoon.
Something you learned this week?
I learned how to strictly say ‘No’.
Why does art matter?
It makes me feel alive.
What's the biggest question facing artists today?
How to make peace among countless ideologies.
A book you strongly recommend?
Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue.
Favorite song?
All songs by Michael Jackson.
Dream dinner party guest?
Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea.
What’s the last thing you made?
Lunch for my wife.
What’s your motto?
Keep thinking and do something.
Hun Kyu Kim is represented by High Art, Paris.
Top image: Hun Kyu Kim, Smooth Sailing (detail), 2019. Pigment on silk, 100 x 130 cm. Courtesy of the artist and High Art, Paris.