Minjung Kim: The Poetry of Material and Time

on view now at Space Gallery!

Front cover of  St-Barth Weekly - Local News in English
Edition N°509 - January 22, 2026

Pictured here the artist Minjung Kim working in her studio  

[photo courtesy of Almine Rech (C) Sebastiano Pellion di Persano]

A major survey of works by renowned international artist Minjung Kim has just opened at Space Gallery in Gustavia and comprises a curation of various series of the artist’s work from her extensive career. At the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western abstraction, the work unfolds as a quiet meditation on time, rhythm, and transformation.
 

Trained in Oriental Painting at Hongik University in Seoul and later at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Kim’s practice is deeply informed by both cultural lineages. At the core of her work lies hanji, traditional Korean mulberry paper, which she manipulates through meticulous processes of layering, cutting, burning, and repetition. Ink and fire become tools not of destruction, but of revelation each mark recording a moment, each burn tracing the passage of time.
 

This philosophy finds one of its most evocative expressions in Kim’s Mountain series. Rather than depicting a literal landscape, the works evoke the enduring presence and spiritual weight of mountains through repetition and reduction. 

“I don’t paint mountains as forms,” Kim explains. “I paint the feeling of standing before one—the time, the silence, the breath.” 

Minjung Kim Red Mountain, 2025 Watercolor on mulberry Hanji paper, 21.06 x 29.53 in (53.50 x 75 cm)

For Kim, the process itself is inseparable from meaning. “The act of repetition is like breathing,” she notes. “Each movement is small, but together they create something vast.” In the Mountain works, subtle shifts in tone and density suggest horizons, ridgelines, and atmospheric depth, allowing the image to emerge gradually—never fully fixed, always in quiet flux.

Her compositions read like visual meditations: restrained, rhythmic, and deeply intentional. Circular forms, layered planes, and muted palettes create surfaces that seem to pulse with stillness, inviting viewers to slow down and inhabit the work rather than merely observe it. Control and spontaneity coexist in delicate balance, reflecting Kim’s belief that “imperfection is where life enters the work.” 

The artist Minjung Kim at her exhibition A Survey of Works at Space Gallery St Barth

Photo © Courtesy of Space Gallery St Barth

Exhibited internationally and held in major museum collections across Europe, Asia, and the United States, Minjung Kim’s art speaks a universal language—one rooted in time, presence, and awareness. In an era defined by speed and spectacle, her work offers a rare counterpoint: a space of silence, patience, and contemplation.
 

Contact info@spacestbarth

for more information.
Open Mon-Sat from 9-1pm
and 4-7pm @spacegallerystbarth 

Space Gallery St Barth Soho Contemporary Art Gallery

spacegallerystbarth.com

@spacegallerystbarth

Painting, photography and sculpture by leading international artists on view at Space Gallery St Barth

Visit us Mon-Sat in the Carré D'Or, Gustavia (Between Hermès & Cartier)

Galerie d'art contemporain Space Gallery St Barth Soho

spacegallerystbarth.com

@spacegallerystbarth

Peintures, photographies et sculptures d'artistes internationaux de premier plan exposées à la Space Gallery St Barth

Rendez-nous visite du lundi au samedi dans le Carré D'Or, Gustavia (entre Hermès et Cartier)