Jonghoon Im

Born in Cheonan (South Korea) in 1988, Jonghoon Im studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Prof. Eva Grubinger as well as painting and graphics with Prof. Jorinde Voigt, with whom he graduated as a master student in 2019. Jonghoon Im captivates the viewer with contrasting colors, subtle coloristic nuances and complex calligraphic textures. Against the background of cloudy colour fields blurring into each other, a complex cosmos of organic forms appears. His aim is to visualise opposing abstract concepts, to make visible pairs of terms such as ‘desire and taboo’, ‘becoming and passing away’ or ‘hollow and spiritual’.

Recurring pictorial elements such as the deer antler, the willow tree, the thistle or the spider lily refer to Western and Asian symbolic worlds and are woven into hybrid forms in the multi-layered drawings. The fusion of opposing elements takes place not only in terms of content, but also during the working process with acrylic ink on paper, in which random color gradients form the starting point for further forms, which are created using meticulous stencil techniques. From intuition and construction, Jonghoon Im develops a hybrid language of forms, which is also evident in his sculptural works.

Biography

  • 1988 born in Cheonan, South Korea
  • 2004 – 2007 Chungnam Arts High School, South Korea
  • 2014-2019 Study of painting and graphics, Academy of Fine Arts Munich
  • 2019 Diploma as a master student, Academy of Fine Arts Munich

Awards

  • 2020 – 2023 Aterlier funding program Landeshauptstadt München Kulturreferat
  • 2019 – 2024 Aterlier grant Staedtisches Atelierhaus am Domagkpark
  • 2019 Catalog subsidy of the LfA Foerderbank Bayern
  • 2017 Selected Boxenstop I, Collection of Prints and Drawings, Pinakothek der Moderne Munich
  • 2015 LfA Foerderbank Bayern, LfA calendar 2016, cultural promotion of young art in Bavaria.

Exhibitions

  • 2022 Thistle, doll and deer antlers, Hall 50 Domagkateliers Munich (S)
    Quittenbaum Gallery (S)
  • 2021 Art Award Germany 2021, Gallery Depelmann Langenhagen
  • 2020 Under Water – Into the Clouds, Hall 50 Domagkateliers Munich
    Carriers, Kunstarkaden Munich
  • 2019 Untitled, Gallery Space Nouvelle Insbruck, Austria
    Akvo, Gallery Foe Munich
  • 2018 Zimmer frei 2018, Hotel Mariandl Munich
    Diploma exhibition Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany
  • 2017 Boxenstop I, Pinakothek der Moderne Munich, Germany
  • 2016 Polyphon, Catholic Academy in Bavaria
  • 2015 I’ve never painted a pineapple before, Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden