GJ Kimsunken

Seoul-born, New Jersey-based artist GJ Kimsunken (b. 1985) creates luminous, minimalistic canvases that obliquely reference the human figure, hovering hauntingly between representation and abstraction. In Kimsunken’s work, he asks questions about our human existence: who we are, why we are and what we are for. With an emphasis on raising the physical matter to the height of the human spirit, Kimsunken investigates the relationship between the paint material and the passage of time. His agonizingly simple gestures result in compositions that are lean and austere, yet immersive and generous in nature. Crafted with humane precision attuned to minute imperfections, Kimsunken’s paintings are thick in texture and succulently layered. These qualities gently reinforce the implication of bodily presence, which Kimsunken examines with subtlety and grace. Kimsunken received his MFA from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture in 2010, and an BFA from the National Art School in Sydney, Australia in 2008. Kimsunken currently lives and works in New Jersey. His work has been featured in galleries and institutional exhibitions around the world.