Kim San 김산
Kim San (b. 1989) is a young Korean painter from Jeju whose work paints nature as a topos — a refuge that nature offers to human beings. For the artist, nature is "a place that always waits, and that one can always return to when exhausted"; the recurring theme of his work, *bonhyang* (本鄕, literally "origin home"), is not simply a hometown but a place that gives an emotional answer to the fundamental question of human existence. Bonhyang is both the process of communing with nature that runs through Kim San's practice, and the space within which he listens to and dwells in nature's voice.
Kim San defines the landscapes marked by human traces as "social landscape," folding into them the memory of human affairs and the experience of individual lives. The white deer that recurs in his work is a symbol of longevity and pure spirituality, while the forest — rendered as gotjawal, Jeju's distinctive volcanic woodland — represents a refuge deep within the self. As the artist puts it: "Nature has no words, but its sound is understood by our inner selves. We are always held in nature's embrace, yet we live forgetting its fragrance."
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025 12th Invitational, Dear My Deer, Lotus Gallery, Busan
2024 11th Invitational, Querencia: A Refuge for the Heart (Querencia: 마음의 안식처), Gallery 41, Seoul
2024 10th Invitational, Longing (염원, 念願), Insa Gana Art Center B1, Seoul
2023 9th Solo Exhibition, Remembered Landscape, Landscape to Be Remembered (기억된 풍경, 기억될 풍경), International Peace Center Exhibition Hall, Jeju
2022 8th Invitational, Bonhyang: Where the Heart Rests (본향(本鄕): 마음이 머무는 자리), Gallery Sogonghun, Seoul
2020 7th Invitational, Picturesque, Delmundo Museum, Jeju
2019 6th Invitational, Muwijayeon (無爲自然), Being As It Is, Gallery Daon, Seoul
2019 5th Invitational, Tamna Pung (탐라風), Munye Hoegwan Exhibition Hall 1, Jeju
2019 4th Invitational, Bonhyang (본향(本鄕)), Gallery Moa, Seoul
2018 3rd Solo Exhibition, Landscape from Below (아래로부터의 풍경), Kensington Jeju Hotel Gallery, Jeju
2017 2nd Solo Exhibition, Gaze of Silence — Spirit of the Wind (침묵의 응시(凝視) – 바람의 영혼), Munye Hoegwan Exhibition Hall 2 / Lee Jung-seob Art Museum Creative Studio, Seogwipo, Jeju
2010 1st Solo Exhibition, Mother's Sea (어머니의 바다), Lee Jung-seob Art Museum Creative Studio, Seogwipo, Jeju
Group Exhibitions
2025 Happy Painting, Mac Gallery, Busan
2025 Metaphorical Form — Looking at What Lies Beneath, Vidi Gallery, Seoul
2025 Spring, Small Works, Gallery Wi, Yongin Suji
2024 Filling: A Space Filled with Emotion, Fobe Gallery, Seoul
2024 Whistling Wish, Mansion Nine, Seoul
2024 Nature Within Me, Lee Jung-seob Art Museum Exhibition Hall, Jeju
2023 Jeju Forest, Stories of Gotjawal, Kidang Art Museum, Jeju
2022 Un:Real Jeju, Insa Gana Art Center B1, Seoul
2021 Young Perspectives, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Gwacheon
2021 Willing to Be Close, Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju
Prizes & Achievements
2024 Selected as Young Artist, JDC–Jeju Culture & Arts Foundation, Jeju
2024 2nd Jeju Young Artist Award, Korean Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations (Jeju Branch), Jeju
2023 Grand Prize, 49th Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Art Exhibition, Korean Fine Arts Association (Jeju Branch), Jeju
2022 Selected, 7th Seorichul Art for Art Grand Exhibition, Seocho Fine Arts Association, Seoul
2018 25th Jeju Outstanding Young Artist Award, Jeju Culture & Arts Foundation, Jeju
Residency:
2025 AMP (Atelier Mansion Program), Cohort 2, Huam-dong, Seoul
Pop-Up Exhibitions & Art Collaborations:
2025 Omiroje Sparkling Wine Collaboration, Omynara
2025 "WINELL" Wine Collaboration with Fantini Edizione, Winell, Seoul
2025 Wunderkammer: A Curious Landscape, Mansion Nine / Shinsegae Department Store South City, Yongin
2024 YKA Festa: Creativity Gas Station, ConnectArt / ArtMuse / Seoul Metropolitan Government, Apgujeong
2024 Design Festival, Byseowoo, Hyundai Premium Outlet Space 1
2024 Byseowoo Wrap Dress & Homewear Art Collaboration
2023 Parfymera Diffuser Art Collaboration
Collections:
MMCA Government Art Bank
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art
Kidang Art Museum
Jeju Police Agency
Seogwipo City Hall
Hana Bank Seoul Head Office
Jeju April 3rd Peace Park
Jeju Dream Tower Landing Resort
Halla Animal Medical Center
Delmundo Museum