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Hank Kim
Hank Kim

Hank Kim (b. 1972)’s art is rooted in “Everyday Life Aesthetics,” drawing on vernacular histories and blending personal perspectives. Super Babies are on view, configured in bold proportions with sharply defined silhouettes. The aesthetic employs a minimal vocabulary to explore symbols of power. Through solid forms rendered in vibrant colors on sleek, durable surfaces, Kim distills ideas and references into basic forms. Whimsical and highly sculptural, these animated cels become relics of moments such as a single flight or eventual arrival. Minwha is a Korean folk art genre from the late Joseon Dynasty that subtly mocks the rigid aristocracy through lively colors and humor. Kim grafts these traditional Korean Pop Art motifs into modern sculpture—honest depictions of daily life and a desire to transcend reality as a superman. This anti-hero manifests his journey as an immigrant, family man, and artist. Kim’s work is built on memories of Danchung and the Obangsaek—the Korean five-color scheme. It represents a collective desire for cosmic harmony, stability, and peace, incorporating Western art influences and American Pop Art. It also reflects his embrace of life’s mud, a Japanese notion of wabi-sabi—finding beauty in imperfection—and Nietzsche’s Übermensch, which seeks self-mastery and dominance. While Kim’s approach champions life’s humble beauty, it ultimately points to hope and positivity. David Super Baby echoes in its vividness and flatness an arc toward a contemporary aesthetic. Hank Kim has held numerous solo exhibitions and has participated in over 300 group exhibitions. He earned a BFA in painting from Suwon University, an MFA in painting from Sungshin University, and an MFA in sculpture from Lehman College, CUNY. He lives and works in New Jersey.

The Time of a Breath

Interview with Yang SoonYeal | Epic Tales

by Mariachiara Marzari, Nov 3, 2026

A multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, sculpture, and performance, Yang SoonYeal (born 1959, South Korea) explores the world’s cyclical nature and transformations. She is the subject of her first major solo exhibition in Venice. This is a special opportunity to discover her art, a perfect synthesis of traditional motifs and contemporary surrealist language, composed of contrasts that dissolve into a perception of a universal dimension. In Epic Tales, curated by Jennifer Baahng and hosted in the historic State Rooms of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Yang SoonYeal orchestrates a sophisticated spatial dialogue between monumental, monolithic sculptures and mirrored surfaces, creating an immersive environment that seems peaceful and suspended, yet is in fact deeply shaped by the passage of time—between history and the future, permanence and transience. Epic Tales invites visitors on a surrealist journey in which the search for profound emotional and psychological resonance unfolds through the encounter between the human condition and the primordial environment.

Yang SoonYeal’s words below reveal a layered personal world in constant motion, making her art a harmonious yet ever-evolving language. On view through November 15, Epic Tales is truly one of those exhibitions not to be missed.

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