Today we’d like to introduce you to Hongbin Kim.
Hi Hongbin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
From my second year of high school, I set a goal of going to an art college and started preparing for the entrance exam. The process was not easy from the beginning, and after three attempts, I finally entered Hongik University, one of the best art universities in Korea, in 2009. In between my college years, I served in the Air Force for two years for military service at the US military base in Osan, Korea, in the position of air control. After I was discharged from the military, I graduated from undergraduate school in 2015 and immediately entered Hongik University Graduate School as a master’s student. Studying abroad in the United States has been my dream since I was young. I had a longing for life in America, and I wanted to make my dreams come true there. But I am Korean at heart, and ultimately, I am a foreigner in America. Living in the United States was my ultimate goal, so rather than rushing to study abroad, I wanted to further develop the work I had been doing after graduating from undergraduate school, and to further research and discover myself and what I was good at. I thought it would be more helpful to complete this process in Korea, so I decided to put off studying abroad for a while and pursue a master’s degree at Hongik University.
After completing my master’s program at Hongik University, I began preparing to study abroad in earnest in 2019. I also entered the doctoral program at Hongik University in case I fail to study abroad. After studying for the TOEFL to prepare for studying abroad and pursuing a doctorate for a year, I decided to take a leave of absence. And in 2020, I was accepted to the MFA program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, I took online classes in Korea for one semester and then took a year off.
During my time in Korea, after taking a leave of absence from SVA in 2021, I worked as a freelance photographer. During that time, I met my current wife and prepared to get married, and because of this, I decided to extend my SVA leave of absence for another year in 2022. In 2023, I finally returned to school and began living in New York, starting the spring semester at SVA. Exactly one year has passed since I lived in New York, and I am currently only in the final semester of my SVA MFA program.
I may not have achieved much so far, but through three attempts to enter college, military service, and several admissions and leave of absence to advance to New York, I have slowly achieved what I want. In my future life in New York, even if I am slower than others and go at a different pace, I will slowly walk my way toward my goal and make plans to achieve the life I want in New York.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has never been smooth. From three attempts to enter college, military service, and the big decision of moving to New York, I have experienced many difficulties and challenges. In particular, for me, whose native language is not English, the language barrier was one of the biggest difficulties in school life and daily life. Because of my poor English skills, I missed out on important information at school and had difficulty communicating in everyday life.
Additionally, there were difficulties due to cultural differences during exchanges with other cultures. After coming to the United States, while interacting with people from various backgrounds in the United States, I was sometimes misunderstood due to cultural differences or interacted in ways I did not intend. These cultural differences were also important learning opportunities in the process of adapting to a new environment and communicating with the wider world.
Despite these challenges, I was able to grow through this process. In the process of overcoming language and cultural barriers, I developed patience and gained a broader perspective through interactions with diverse people. Additionally, these experiences taught me greater patience and perseverance and gave me the motivation to keep moving toward my desired goals. In the future, I will continue to build on these experiences and strive to realize my dreams, including living in New York.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One of the hallmarks of my work is the skillful capture of everyday fleeting experiences and accumulations of memories. Through my recent work <MAYFLY> series, I use short-lived mayflies to express life’s fragmented experiences and memories. Like mayflies, each piece of life is piled up in the work with various colors and multiple brushstrokes, symbolizing the accumulated experiences and memories and the ego formed as a result. At the same time, I try to rationally express emotions and everyday moments through the medium of painting. I use the “Reversed Strata” technique I developed, stacking acrylic paint in an order opposite to original painting techniques. As a result, the color applied first becomes visible on the outermost part of the artwork. In other words, my creative technique reveals the fundamentals of consciousness inherent through experience on the canvas of the work.
One of the main things that sets me apart from others is my experience shooting my own work with a camera as a side job. This process has greatly improved my ability to capture images and my sense of expressing them in my work. In particular, my understanding and sense of color has developed greatly, which plays an important role in my work. By learning the subtle techniques of manipulating color through photography and observing how colors change in different lighting and environments, I have been able to apply this careful color manipulation to my paintings as well.
This experience adds depth and complexity to the artwork I create and provides a richer, more detailed visual experience for my viewers. Additionally, the skills and know-how I gain while photographing my work allows me to better convey its value and meaning when exhibiting or sharing my work. Ultimately, this deep understanding and sense of photography and color became an important feature that distinguished my artistic work from that of other artists.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
The people in my life who give me the most support and strength are my parents. They have always supported me since I chose a career in art, and as the most passionate fan of my work, they have always been by my side. Even when no one was paying attention to my work, my parents kept me steadfast in continuing my work.
And another important force in my life is my wife. As anyone who has actually worked on an artwork knows, work is much more efficient when you have four hands rather than two. My wife manages my business and schedule, and she is the person I talk to most about my work.
My mentor for my work is Professor Taeho Kim. I learned a lot from working under him in Korea, and that experience had a great influence on my artistic work. Gerhard Richter became a great mentor to me. Although I have never met or talked to him in person, he is an artist I have liked since I was young, and I have been inspired a lot by analyzing his work.
The team members who play the biggest role for me are the classmates I met while attending school. They have been important companions in my artistic journey, sharing creative ideas and visions and helping each other grow.
Pricing:
- 05. $250 each
- 06,07,08,09,10,11,13,14. $250
- 12. $350 each
- 15. $300
- 16. $500
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_vanhada_/
Image Credits
Shaded Brilliance
