Heemin Chung

Heemin Chung investigates the material potential of digital images as she translates them into the mediums of painting and sculpture. Her work interrogates the role of technology in society and how it has shaped contemporary approaches to art. She reimagines art-historical genres, including the landscape and still life, through poetic visual metaphor, engaging with experimental techniques to explore the possibilities of texture and volume in her work. Positioning her practice as a response to orthodox painting techniques, Chung claims the tradition for herself: ‘Given its long history, I believe painting is an easy medium to detect changes in the way we see and perceive. This is why the medium is appealing.’ 

Through her studio practice, Chung has developed a keen interest in printing techniques as an extension of her approach to painting, which manifests in both her works on canvas and sculptures. She uses digital-modelling software to create 3D prints of images taken from the internet, transforming them into membrane-like sheets made from a transparent gel medium. ‘I’m attempting to transfer inkjet to the acrylic body in such a way that details disappear due to surface irregularities,’ she explains. Draped, tucked and pinched onto canvases and steel supports, the fabricated material creates echoed forms of the original digital image, reconfiguring the genre of the still life. 

Chung was born in Seoul, South Korea, where she continues to live and work. She received her MFA in Fine Arts from the Korea National University of Arts, Seoul in 2015, and has since exhibited her work in solo exhibitions at P21, Seoul (2022; 2019); Museumhead, Seoul (2021); Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul (2018); and Projectspace Sarubiadabang, Seoul (2016). She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including those at WESS, Seoul (2023); Nam-Seoul Museum of Art (2021); Eulji Art Center, Seoul (2021); Soorim Art Center, Seoul (2020); Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan (2020); Rainbowcube, Seoul (2020); Platform L, Seoul (2019); Boan 1942, Seoul (2019); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon (2019); Hite Collection, Seoul (2018); Korean Cultural Center, Hong Kong (2018); and Archive Bomm, Seoul (2017). 

Chung was awarded the DOOSAN Arts Award in 2022, the same year she participated in the Busan Biennale, and this autumn she will present a solo exhibition of her work at the DOOSAN Art Center in Seoul. She has held the SeMA Nanji Residency, Seoul (2022); Sindoh Artist Support Program (2020); and MMCA Residency Goyang (2020), and her paintings and sculptures are housed in public institutions including the Art Bank, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Seoul Museum of Art; and Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul.