Byron Kim (born in 1961 in La Jolla, California) is an American contemporary artist. He is Korean American, and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.[1][2] In the early 1990s he produced minimalist paintings exploring racial identity. He graduated from Yale University in 1983 where he was a member of Manuscript Society.
Kim's work in the early 1990s consisted of monochrome canvases depicting the skin tones of friends and family.[3] He gained early recognition for Synecdoche, his contribution to the 1993 Whitney Biennial, which embodied the aesthetic and political aspirations of the art in that year's exhibition.[4] Synecdoche (1991–1992) is a grid of 400 small, monochromatic paintings. Each panel recreates the skin color of an individual who sat for Kim while he painted their portrait.[4] Although the works, at first glance, resemble minimalist paintings of the 1960s the racial and political dimensions became apparent after reading in the exhibition catalogue how the works came about.[5]
These monochrome canvases were followed by two or three-zoned canvases that color-sampled objects, sites or people.[3] Kim collaborated with artist Glenn LigononBlack & White (1993), part of a series critiquing the 'prejudices' of art materials, specifically the hues of 'Flesh'-colored tubes of paint.[6] 46 Halsey Drive Wallingford CT (1995) records his family members' various recollections of the color of a home Kim lived in as a child. Other works employ a more naturalistic approach to represent details such as the palms of the artist's hands, or the whorls in his children's hair.
Kim also paints landscapes[3] and makes photographic assemblages.[7]
His work may be found in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.[8]
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