Hyung joo Kim

Born in 1959 in Masan, South Korea, Hyungjoo Kim holds a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. in Fiber Art from Hongik University. She has served as a Visiting Professor at Michigan State University and North Park University, where she also taught as an Artist-in-Residence. Kim has exhibited internationally, including at the Chicago Cultural Center and the MIA Art Fair, with project sponsorships from major corporations such as Samsung.

“My art is about ‘Communication.’ My inner voice communicates with basic human needs… reminiscent of bamboo swaying in the wind.”

“My work is deeply influenced by my personal struggle overcoming illness and the devoted love of my mother. Specifically, the ‘heartbeat’ and the connection between mother and child are central themes in my practice. Through Hanji, weaving, and mixed media, I visualize the ‘Spirit of Korea’-Harmony, Humanity, and Freedom.”

A Turning Point in America

In Detroit, at the Pezaiski Gallery of the Ford Foundation, I presented a commemorative exhibition marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Korean War armistice. The exhibition was supported by Dr. Hyun Bong Hak, the Mayor of Dearborn, and members of the Korean community in Michigan, many of whom attended the opening. Korean American official Shin-ae Jeon and Mrs. Nancy also visited from the White House. In Chicago, the cultural affairs consul and Yuk Gil-won, an adviser to the Hankook Ilbo, traveled more than five hours to report on the exhibition.

Retired American generals who had served in the Korean War took the lead at the opening. They observed a moment of silence, fired a ceremonial salute, and planted a commemorative tree in honor of the twenty-seven American soldiers who died during the war. Around that time, Professor Jeon In-ho, now a professor at Chung-Ang University, had just returned from studying in France and was working as a part-time lecturer. He joined the Spirit of Korea exhibition team as both manager and planner.

Although the exhibition received extraordinary publicity and filled the newspapers day after day, it was not covered by American art journals. After another exhibition at the James Tygerman Gallery, I moved to Chicago in July 2004 as an invited professor at North Park University, and from that point exhibitions continued one after another.

Even while I continued to exhibit, life as a foreigner stranded alone on an island no one knew also continued. As time passed and uncertainty deepened, I clung more fiercely to my work. I had to do something. Through the act of making art, I found the strength to search for my essential self. With my 2006 solo exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center as a turning point, the works I loved like my own children began to move onto a wider world stage. The response was astonishing. NBC Chicago came to cover the show, and the news was broadcast on television.

CV (Curriculum Vitae)

HYUNGJOO KIM Born 1959, Masan, South Korea Lives and works in Chicago, IL and Kangwondo, South Korea

EDUCATION

• 1995 | M.F.A., Graduate School of Applied Arts, Hong-Ik University, majoring in Costume Design
• 1987 | B.F.A., College of Fine Arts, Hong-Ik University, majoring in Fine Arts

TEACHING EXPERIENCES

• 1995 – 1996 | Lecturer in Costume Design, Bukyung National University
• 1995 – 1996 | Lecturer in Costume Design, Daeyu Industrial Professional College
• 1997 – 1998 | Lecturer in Costume Design, Changwon National University
• 2001 – 2002 | Lecturer, Dankook University, College of Fine Arts, Seoul
• 2002 | Visiting Professor, College of Fine Arts, Yanbian University, Yanbian, China
• 2003 | Lecturer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• 2004 | Visiting Professor, North Park University, Chicago

PRIVATE EXHIBITIONS

• October 2026 | Solo Exhibition, EK Gallery
• October 2022 | Mother's Forest, Bauhaus Gallery, La Habra, CA
• January 2011 | Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco, CA
• January – February 2011 | University Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• April – May 2010 | North Park University, Chicago, IL
• June 2009 | Aldo Castillo Contemporary, Chicago, IL
• February 2007 | Michigan State University International Center, Lansing, MI
• September 2006 | Spirit of Korea, Chicago South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
• July – August 2005 | Spirit of Korea (Humanity, Harmony, Freedom), Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
• August – September 2005 | Zhou Brothers Art Center, Chicago, IL
• July – August 2003 | Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Padzieski Art Gallery, Dearborn, MI
• August 2002 | 6th Private Exhibition, Sejong Cultural Center, Seoul
• June 20 – August 20, 2002 | 3rd Exhibition, Muckenthaler Museum, Fullerton, CA
• May 1 – 31, 2001 | 1st Private Exhibition, LA Art Core Center, Los Angeles
• May 1 – 23, 2001 | 1st Private Exhibition, LA Art Core Brewery Annex, Los Angeles
• October 27 – November 3, 2001 | 2nd Exhibition, Osaka Korean Cultural Center, Osaka
• June 1997 | 5th Private Exhibition, Gallery In Deco, Seoul
• December 1995 | 4th Private Exhibition, Gallery May, Seoul
• June 1994 | 3rd Private Exhibition, Gallery Madame Fora, Seoul
• June 1994 | Kim Hyung Joo Art to Wear Show, Gallery Madame Fora, Seoul
• July 1994 | 3rd Private Tour Exhibition, Gallery Yeru, Chunjoo
• January 1994 | 2nd Private Exhibition, Gallery Dongseu, Masan
• October 1993 | 1st Private Exhibition, Gallery Bing, Seoul
• October 1993 | 1st Private Tour Exhibition, Gallery Yeru, Chunjoo

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• January 28 – February 1, 2026 | Palm Beach Art Show, Palm Beach County Convention Center, West Palm Beach, FL
• 2017 | SCOPE Miami Beach, Miami, FL
• 2013 | Paper Dress Performance, Skokie Performing Arts Center, IL
• 2013 | MIA Art Fair, Miami, FL
• 2011 | MIA Art Fair, Miami, FL
• 2006 | Spirit of Korea Fashion Show, South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
• October – November 2002 | Fiber & Fashion Art Festival, Pusan Convention Center
• November 2002 | Annual Exhibition of the Korean Fashion Association, Seoul Art Center
• November – December 2001 | Overseas Art Exhibition at the Gallery Korean, Korean Cultural Center, New York City, NY
• September – October 2001 | Hong-Ik Fiber and Plastic Arts Exhibition, Maga Museum, Yongin
• June 2001 | Hong-Ik Fiber and Plastic Arts Exhibition, Hong-Ik University Modern Arts Museum, Seoul
• June 2000 | Haarm: The Day the Brides Treasures Arrive Art Show, Seoul City Art Hall
• June 1999 | Art & Art Wear, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
• April 1999 | Seoul Millenium Show, Deoksu Palace, Seoul
• December 1998 | '98 Artists Invitation, Gallery May, Seoul
• May 1999 | Gallery Opening Exhibition, Gallery Nire, Yokohama, Japan
• August – October 1998 | Art to Wear: German Tour Exhibition, Aachen, Germany
• July 1998 | The 17th International Costume Exhibition, Lotte World Hotel, Seoul
• May 1998 | Exhibition of Hong-Ik Fashion Works, LG Gallery, Seoul
• April – June 1998 | '98 Fashion Art from Korea, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
• September 1997 | Hong-Ik Fiber Art Exhibition, Korean Culture Arts Foundation Art Center, Seoul
• June 1997 | Arts in Hats, Seoul Art Center Museum, Seoul
• April 1997 | Fashion Art Festival, Seoul Art Center Museum, Seoul
• June 1993 | Hong-Ik Costume Exhibition, Hong-Ik University Museum, Seoul
• September 1991 | Fiber Art Exhibition, Gallery Baek-ak, Seoul
• 1987 – 1995 | Korea Craft Exhibition, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul
• 1987 – 1990 | Fiber Art Exhibition, Design & Package Center, Seoul
• July 1987 | Korea Contemporary Art Exhibition, Sejong Culture Hall, Seoul

SPECIAL PROJECTS

• 2013 | Paper Dress Performance, Skokie Performing Arts Center, IL
• 2006 | Spirit of Korea Fashion Show, South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
• 1997 – 1998 | Development of Intangible Cultural Assets of Korea (Responsible for Fiber Art Field), sponsored by the Samsung Cultural Foundation
• November 4, 2000 | Presentation of special artwork for the 25th Anniversary of Dr. Philip Jason, Philadelphia, PA
• December 1, 2001 | Presentation of special artwork “The Emile Bell” for the 50th commemorative ceremony of Dr. Philip Jason at the Union League of Philadelphia
• March 9, 2003 | Presentation of special artwork commemorating Ahn Chang Ho, sponsored by the Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Foundation, Seoul
• July – August 2003 | 50th International Korean War Armistice commemoration, The Spirit of Korea at Padzieski Art Gallery, Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Dearborn, MI
• Samsung Calendar Project | Corporate Sponsorship

AWARDS AND PRIZES

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

Museum & Institutional Collections

• Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA | Travel Through the Time (2000), Record and Symbol (2000), Key to the Inner World (2000), Ornamental Hairpins (2001)
• Dong Seo University, Pusan, Korea | Symbol and Mark (2000), The Origin (2002)
• Korea Red Cross, Seoul, Korea | Ornamental Hairpins (2002)
• Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea | Give us Liberty (2002), Innocent Smile (2001)
• KTF.com, Seoul, Korea | The Story of the Heaven, Earth, and Man (2002), Prayer for the Invisible Place (2002)
• Ford Community Art Performing Center, Detroit, USA | The Universe 1, 2 (2001)
• Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho Memorial Foundation, Seoul, Korea | Heaven, Earth, Man (2000)
• Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea | Dialectic of the Original Form (2001)
• Seo Kang University, Seoul, Korea | Korea Fantasy 2 (2000)
• Shug Eui University, Seoul, Korea | Symbol and Mask (2000)
• Song Ho University, Kang Won, Korea | The Origin (2001)

Private Collections

• DongYang Company, Paris, France | Beautiful Our Country (1996)
• Winner Company, Wels, Austria | The Green Sun (1999)
• The Philip Jason Memorial Center, Philadelphia, USA | Independence Gate (2000)
• L.A. Art Core, Los Angeles, USA | What Shall I Be? (2001)
• Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan | Yearning (2001)
• Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation, Los Angeles, USA | The Turtle (2001)

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Cole, Karl. “Possibilities of Paper: Kim Hyung Joo,” Davis Publications, Jan 2022.
• “Spirit of Korea,” NBC News, 2006.
• “Mother’s Forest Exhibition,” KUMC TV, 2022.
• “Artist Interview,” Artmiami.tv.