Daebie Kim (b. 1994) is a Korean painter currently residing in Seoul, South Korea. She earned a dual bachelor's degree in Fine Art and Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016. Since 2017, the artist has resided and worked in Seoul.
Daebie Kim's painting practice explores methods that transcend the traditional canvas beyond the mere representation of named objects. This conceptual approach is manifested in her "Zero(O)" paintings (2022)—a series of portrait format canvases marked by a series of holes, a feature continuously found in many of her larger works. Often beginning with analysis and alteration of classic compositions found in art history such as still life, landscape, and portraits, her work takes on a unique transformation to liberate the objects from their entrenched meanings. Some recurring motifs are eyes, female breasts, and flowers with receding black centers, often arranged centrally with converging elements towards the center. Vortex shapes of varying sizes and contexts manifest in the canvas's middle, serving as pathways to alternate realm(s).
The artist was the 2016 recipient of the Interdisciplinary Research Scholarships at UCLA School of Art & Architecture. She has exhibited in solo exhibitions at Humorgarmgot, Seoul, and Mythtake Museum, Gapyeong. Her numerous group exhibitions include “Femalarity” at Volery Gallery, Dubai and “Trioque” at the Shophouse Hong Kong. She has partook in an artist residency programme at Pinea-Linea De Costa, Rota, Spain, in 2020.
CONTACT
︎ dkim1994@ucla.edu
︎ painter_daeb_
EDUCATION
2016 University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA)
- B.A. in Fine Arts, B.A. in Art History
- Awardee of 2016 Interdisciplinary Research Scholarships, UCLA School of Art & Architecture
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Heading Vectors, POST, Seoul, South Korea
2022 Emerging in the Dark, Humorgarmgot, Seoul, South Korea
2015 Works on Paper, Mythtake Museum, Gapyeong, South Korea
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Femalarity, Volery Gallery, Dubai, UAE
2023 Trioque, The SHOPHOUSE Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2023 Breathing Still Life, FFF Gallery, Seoul , South Korea
2022 Dear You Are My Paper, Humorgarmgot Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2020 Frozen Space, SPACE M, Seoul, South Korea
2020 The Language of Rawness, SPACE M, Seoul, South Korea
2020 Portrait of Being, Espacio PINEA Gallery, Rota, Spain
2016 Senior Discount, New Wight Gallery at UCLA, Los Angeles, US
2016 By the Nature for the Nature, Broad Art Center at UCLA, Los Angeles, US
2016 Layers, OTIS College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, US
2016 Juried Exhibition curated by Rita Gonzalez (Head Curator at the Contemporary Art Department at LACMA), New Wight Gallery at UCLA, Los Angeles, US
ARTIST RESIDENCY
2020 PINEA-LINEA DE COSTA Artist in Residence, Spain