Sung Hwan Kim (Born 1975) is a South Korea born contemporary artist, who’s famously known a Sung Kim. He's a multifaceted artist who's respected for his ability to combine video, live performance, illustrations art and exquisite lighting effects to attain amazing designs. Many of his artwork pieces capture surrealism, depicting beautiful watersides, beaches, and gardens. Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, grew up in North Korea, but later moved to New York where he's currently carrying out his artistic works. Kim's education is quite diverse. He studied architecture at the Seoul National University. He later studied Mathematics at Williams College in the US, earning a bachelors’ degree. He later attained a Master of Science in Visual Studies. After completing earning his masters, Kim took a four year residency in Amsterdam Royal Academy of Visual Arts. His lover for theatrical art and live performance started when he visited Harvard University as an exchange student. He was mentored by Joan Jonas, who pioneered visual and performance art. The mentorship from Jonas influenced him to embrace video art, leading to his 2006 successful release of the film Dog Video.
Kim draws a lot of his inspirations from his personal experience. He also incorporates specific themes and myths from his Korean background into his works. Another thing that has influenced Kim's works is his love for Mathematics that dates back to his childhood days. He has been able to infuse logic into his performances to create specific interesting plots. Since the release of his famous Dog Video, Kim has been playing various roles, including being an editor, director, composer, and performer. He also draws a lot of ideas from different works of poetry. Examples of his works inspired by poetry are Washing the Brain and Corn and Temper Clay. Due to great quality and creativity, Kim’s works are exhibited in different platforms such as Tank's Modern Gallery, Queens Museum in New York, Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany, among other places. His artistic creations capture conceptual and performance art movements.
