GunYoung Kim

Over the past several years, I have been developing figurative work that delves into subtle and ambiguous human emotions. I draw inspiration from my daily life, where I feel that emotions emerge from the connections between humans, objects, and environments. My work focuses on the inner aspects of human beings, expressed through facial expressions, gestures, staging, and intentional disfigurement.

Human emotions are profoundly complex. Our reactions to the world around us are multi-layered, often leaving us unable to fully understand our own emotional states. This complexity and ambiguity—rooted in the vulnerability of the human psyche with all its imperfections—has been a central theme in my sculptures. I aim to translate these ideas into physical forms, emphasizing them through composition and tactile manipulation.

In my newest project, I have expanded my work to include animals and flowers, addressing broader themes of gender, politics, and religion. This work is inspired in part by Christianity, especially its emphasis on finding beauty within pain. That duality feels universal to me: “Hardship and pain never go away but remain a part of us—they somehow harden and become beautiful.” I use flowers as a metaphor to express this connection between pain and beauty, weaving those elements into my work to highlight their intertwined nature.