About Kimjung:

Kimjung was born in Seoul in 1940.  He graduated from Kyunghee University with a major in Western Painting.  He studied at the studio of Professor H. Sandtner in Germany.

Professor Kim has held 19 individual exhibitions and 160 group exhibitions.  He currently works as an adviser for the KOR-GER Figurative Artist Association.
 

Professor Kim Jung By Professor Patricia Halliday

 I have been an admirer of Professor Kim Jung’s work for several decades.  His work transcends cultures and generations, appealing to collectors world-wide, and reflecting international influences.  After attending one of his exhibits in Seoul in 1981, the first work I acquired was his impression of Bingen, Germany, with its homes and churches pictured alongside the Rhine as if in a dream.   His sketches not only capture Korean culture, but also include delightful impressions of German towns and tree-lined streets in American cities, as well as intricate character drawings.  His work is universally appealing, while still speaking to us on a personal level.  A street scene is filled with humble homes and people going about their daily routines in charming towns and villages, or perhaps it is a drawing of a busy metropolis with majestic buildings, or boats plying a harbor.  Children are often the subjects of his work.  They are seen playing games and traditional musical instruments.  Professor Kim has a unique ability to evoke a feeling of movement in his art.  Whether it is a city scene, or an abstract work that conveys his life-long love of music and his quest to express it through visible art, as shown in the Arirang series, Professor Kim’s work takes you to another place and time, changing your state of mind.  Using black and white or vibrant shades of blue, red, orange, and mustard, he draws us effortlessly into the scene, making us wish that we could visit the town and walk along its streets, strike up a conversation with its people, or join the children in their play.   Umbrella-carrying villagers hurry along the streets of town, or walk uphill against the wind to their destinations.  We long to inhabit the lone cabin nestled in the mountains.   A bright moon invites us to look into the night sky, and the Korean pine tree, elegant in its simplicity, calls to us in the distance.

Professor Patricia Halliday

Santa Monica College

Santa Monica, California