Byron Kim

Byron Kimis a painter whose work lies at the intersection of figurative, abstract, and conceptual art. In the series Synecdoche, for instance, he paints abstract-looking grids from hundreds of different skin colors, each corresponding to the tone of a sitter/model. For the past 11 years, he has also painted a small square patch of the sky weekly, in his series Sunday Paintings, the title of which alludes ironically to a tradition of amateur painting done especially on the weekends. The Sunday Paintings series was inspired by Kim’s chance encounter with the writing of Chuang Tze, an early Daoist, who wrote about the relationship of the infinite to the infinitesimal. In both series, as in much of his other work, Kim’s paintings look like abstractions even though they are literal representations of a subject – a specific person’s skin, or the sky in a particular location on a certain date. The aesthetics of Kim’s work reflects a range of inspirations and influences: Minimalism and Conceptual art of the 1960s and 70s, along with abstract painting.
Mr. Kim lives and works in Brooklyn.
1986 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
1983 BA, Yale University
Mr. Kim’s work will be featured in the exhibition Modernist Art from India: Radical Terrain.

About Artists on Art

In conversation withAssistant Curator Beth Citron, speakers from New York and international contemporary art scenes interact with and informally discuss the rich artistic traditions of the Himalayas and surrounding regions in relation to their own practices and processes.
Please meet at the base of the Spiral Staircase at 6:15 for all tours.
Admission to the museum’s galleries is free every Friday from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.