About
Jae Yong Kim is an artist born in Seoul, Korea but grew up in many different parts of the world including Kuwait and different parts of the US while getting a college and master’s degree.
In his artworks, Kim uses surrogates in trying to express himself such as snails and donuts.
Kim uses snails as surrogates in expressing his constant searching for a home. His early experience of moving from different countries to countries made him explore his identity and the meaning of a home. Snails in particular carry their homes on their backs so they serve as the perfect stand-ins. Kim also uses snails particularly because snail is always moving forward but also carry their “homes” on their backs. For Kim, home is not a physical thing in a definite place. It is something that he can carry around with him while he’s travelling to different places.
While moving to different places, Kim was always carrying a baggage and carrying a home and going somewhere to a certain direction, but did not know exactly where.
In order to talk about people through art, it was natural for him to use snails to focus on expressing facial expressions, emotions, movement, and directions. That’s why the snails don’t have details, they have more of a cartoonlike character. Also there are over exaggerated expression on the snails that he saw and examined on the faces of people he saw on the streets.
The expression of donuts came to Kim during a time of deep self-doubt in 2008. He started questioning and redefining everything that he thought would bring him happiness. Kim thought of fame, money and power that often times lead to false happiness and success. Donuts were one of the few things that brought him joy. The simplicity of its shape and the expression of taste gives us a moment to indulge in childlike happiness. And it was here in this simple donut that he found the perfect vehicle for his message. Also, referencing to the Garden of Eden, he substituted the “apple” with donuts which he considers as something that bring us a great joy in life. He wanted to use an item that symbolize money and ambition and all the things you want in your life, but they won’t necessarily bring happiness in life.
Every donut is unique because everything is hand painted. A donut is like a canvas to kim and he expresses his feelings at that time onto the donut.
Biographical
BORN
Seoul, South Korea 1973
EDUCATION
2001 Cranbrook Academy of Art - Bloomfield Hills, MI
MFA, Ceramics
1998 Hartford Art School, University of Hartford - West Hartford, CT
BFA, Ceramics & Sculpture
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 “Donut Say Too Much”, Hermitage Museum & Gardens, Norfolk, VA 2019 "I Love Donuts", Powerlong museum, Shanghai, China
2019 “Donut Crave”, Boise Museum, Boise,
2018 "We Love Donuts", L'Avenue, Shanghai, China 2017 “I Love Donuts” Harbour City, Hong Kong, China
2016 “Jae Yong Kim”, HuanTai Museum, Jangsu, China
2016 “Pop Goes the Donuts”, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2016 “Can't Stop Thinking About....Donuts”, The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, MI 2015 “Lusting After Donuts”, The Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, MI
2014 “Donut Rush”, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY 2014 “I Love Donuts”, Hunterdon Art Museum, NJ
2013 “Donut Fields”; Waterfall Gallery & Mansion, - New York, NY 2012 “Lust of Donuts”, Blank Space Gallery, - New York, NY 2004 “Snailing”; New Century Artists Gallery, - New York, NY 2003 “New Work”; Visual Research Gallery, - New haven, CT
1999 “Momo On Wall”; New Space Gallery, Manchester Community College - Manchester, CT 1998 “Just Momo”; The University Gallery, University of Bridgeport - Bridgeport, CT
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 "Food for Thought", Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2018 "Home", Waterfall Gallery & Mansion, New York, NY
2018 "Group exhibition", Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2018 "The Artist", Seoul, Korea with Gallery YEH, Seoul, Korea
2018 "Healing color", Severance Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2017 "New Book", Waterfall Gallery & Mansion, New York,, NY
2017 "Luminance", Lyons Weir Gallery, New York, NY
2017 “Made in America”, Museum of Art & History, Lancaster, CA
2016 “Donut Craze”, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Contemporary Ceramic art in Asia” Zhejang Art Museum, Zhejiang, China
2015 “Beyond the Morning Calm”, Lillstreet Art Center Gallery, Chicago IL
2015 “Fermented Souls”, Kate Shin Gallery, New York, NY
2015 “Glazed & Diffused”, Ferrin Contemporary, North Adams, MA 2015 “SWEET as ONE”, AllRightsReserved Ltd, Chengdu, China 2014 “Double Mirror” American University Museum, Washington, DC 2014 “SALON” Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts, Binghamton, NY
2013 “Ode to summer”- Waterfall Gallery & Mansion, - New York, NY 2013 “East and West Hunterdon exhibition”, Hunterdon art Museum, NJ
2009 “The Day after Tomorrow” Sweetwater Center for the Arts, Sewickley, PA
2009 “The LEAP Award finalists Exhibition” Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2008 “East & West Clay Exhibition 2008” Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art- Mashiko, Japan 2007 “Dreams in Clay”, George Siegel Gallery, Montclair State University - Montclair, NJ
EXPERIENCE
2015-current Assistant Professor, Seoul National University of Science and Technology-Seoul, Korea
2014-2015 Assistant Professor, Ceramics Program Director, Montclair State University- Montclair, NJ