Ken Gun Min b. 1976
Ken Gun Min’s paintings explore intimacy, masculinity, and representation across cultures, while employing a mixture of western-style oil paints, Korean pigments, embroidery, and beading on raw canvas. Often featuring nude and queer-coded men, his portraits and lush landscapes concoct fanciful idylls where longing, melancholy, and euphoria manifest irrespective of expectations imposed on people in daily life.
Born in Seoul, Min lived in San Francisco, Zurich, and Berlin before settling in Los Angeles. With this experience of Eurocentric capitals, his practice calls first-world-oriented perspectives into question. For the past several years, Min has focused on the creation of cross-cultural figures and spaces by integrating eastern and western painting styles on a single plane. This practice investigates the way figures and landscapes can be colored by the material and stylistic choices made in their rendering. In both his technical application and the scenes he composes, Min challenges conceptions of sexuality, gender, and race, especially as it is depicted in Western art history.
Ken Gun Min (b. 1976, Seoul, South Korea; Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA) studied western painting and art history and theory at Hongik University in Seoul, Korea and received his MFA from the Academy of Art, University of San Francisco. Solo exhibitions include The Last Paradise, MCA Denver, Denver, CO; Sweet Discipline from Koreatown, Shulamit Nazarian Los Angeles; Silverlake Dog Park, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles; Wounded Man, Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, K contemporary, Denver, CO; and Becoming Palm Tree, Gae Po Project Space, Seoul, Korea. Group exhibitions that featured Min’s work include Strings of Desire, Craft Contemporary Museum, Los Angeles, CA; i know you are, but what am i? (De)Framing Identity and the Body, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT; Sparkle in, Fade out, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA; People of the Otherworld: Ken Kiff in Dialogue, curated by Kathy Battista, Albertz Benda, New York, NY; Who is Your Master? curated by Wolf Hill, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY: Bozomag: Bozo Family Hoedown, M+B gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Notes on Masculinity, Lyle and King, New York, NY; Wonderland, Lehmann Maupin, Seoul, Korea; and 36 Paintings, Harper’s, East Hampton, NY. He was a Hopper Prize finalist and received awards from Direktorenhaus, Berlin, DE and the Kellogg Foundation, New York, NY. Min’s work has been featured in Artnet, Artsy, Hyperallergic, The Art Newspaper, Wallpaper* and Frieze.
His work is included in the permanent collections of the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, FL; Los Angeles County Art Museum (LACMA), CA; Speed Museum of Art, Louisville, KY; CCS Bard, Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY; JP Morgan Chase Art Collection; and X Museum, Beijing, China.
Ken Gun Min has a forthcoming solo exhibition at the Savannah College of Art and Design and a project at the Denver Art Museum in 2025.
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Ken Gun MinThe vastness is bearable only through love (homage to Carl Sagan, Robert Chanler), 2024Onyx, crystal, assorted gemstones, vintage beads, Korean pigment, silk embroidery thread, found fabric, oil paint on canvas92 x 150 in
233.7 x 381 cm
Each panel:
92 x 75 in
233.7 x 190.5 cm -
Ken Gun MinWho dares to love forever? Who wants to live forever?, 2024Onyx, crystal, assorted gemstones, vintage beads, Korean pigment, silk embroidery thread, found fabric, oil paint on canvas, walnut, powder coated stainless steel.
90 x 136 in
228.6 x 345.4 cm -
Ken Gun MinNight walk in the Griffith park (homage to Korean tiger), 2024Onyx, crystal, assorted gemstones, vintage beads, Korean pigment, silk embroidery thread, found fabric oil on canvas50 x 36 in
127 x 91.4 cm -
Ken Gun MinStranger By The Lake (Bare Ass Creek), 2023Oil, Korean pigment, silk embroidery thread, beads, crystals92 x 70 in
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Ken Gun MinAmbiguous Yoga Club, 2023Oil, Korean pigment, silk embroidery thread, beads, crystals92 x 70 in
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Ken Gun MinQueen of the Night (Koreatown), 2023Oil, Korean pigment, silk embroidery thread, beads, crystals92 x 70 in
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Ken Gun MinWestlake (Thirteen missing women), 2023Korean pearl pigment, silk embroidery, beads, crystals, oil on canvas80 x 60 in
203.2 x 152.4 cm -
Ken Gun MinAn eclipse does not come alone (West Lake Moon, East Lake Sun), 2023Korean pearl pigment, oil paint, silk embroidery, beads, and crystals on canvas80 x 120 in
203.2 x 304.8 cm -
Ken Gun MinNight Cruiser (Chestnut Tree), 2023Korean pearl pigment, embroidery, oil on canvas60 x 40 in
152.4 x 101.6 cm -
Ken Gun MinLake Lobster and Sunflower, 2023Korean pearl pigment, embroidery, oil on canvas60 x 40 in
152.4 x 101.6 cm -
Ken Gun MinNight Cruiser (Westlake), 2023Korean pearl pigment, silk embroidery, oil on canvas50 x 41 in
127 x 104.1 cm -
Ken Gun MinBathers, 2023Korean pearl pigment, silk embroidery, oil on canvas80 x 60 in
203.2 x 152.4 cm -
Ken Gun MinSomeday when spring is here, we'll find our love anew (ass up), 2022Korean powder, found fabric, embroidery on raw canvas63 1/2 x 54 in
161.3 x 137.2 cm -
Ken Gun MinI am glad the suffering is over for you (Iris ensata, Japanese water iris), 2022Korean pearl pigment, silk thread, embroidery wax, collected beads, oil on raw canvas63 x 39 3/8 in
160 x 100 cm -
Ken Gun MinMongolian Wrestler, 2022oil on canvas30 1/4 x 22 1/2 in
77 x 57.1 cm -
Ken Gun MinKoreatown man (pink smoking jacket), 2022Korean pigment on canvas46 x 41 inches
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Ken Gun MinSilverlake, 2022gold thread, Korean pigment powder, oil, vintage crystal beads on linen50 x 41 1/2 in
127 x 105.4 cm -
Ken Gun MinTwo Oysters, 2022oil on linen41 x 47 in
104.1 x 119.4 cm
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Sweet Discipline from Koreatown, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, November 11–December 20, 2023.
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Sweet Discipline from Koreatown, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, November 11–December 20, 2023.
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Sweet Discipline from Koreatown, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, November 11–December 20, 2023.
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Shulamit Nazarian at EXPO Chicago 2023
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Shulamit Nazarian at EXPO Chicago 2023
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Shulamit Nazarian at EXPO Chicago 2023
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Ken Gun Min. Strings of Desire, Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, 2023
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Silverlake Dog Park, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, May 21–June 25, 2022.
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Installation view, Ken Gun Min: Silverlake Dog Park, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, May 21–June 25, 2022.
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Ken Gun Min
Sweet Discipline from Koreatown 11 Nov - 20 Dec 2023Opening Reception Saturday, Nov 11 6-8pm Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to present Sweet Discipline from Koreatown, an exhibition of new works byKen Gun Min. In the artist’s newest paintings, lush, floral landscapes and sensitively rendered, imaginative portraits are adorned with beads and embroidery. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Min has...Read more -
10 Years
9 Jul - 27 Aug 2022Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles is pleased to present 10 YEARS, a special group exhibition celebrating this milestone anniversary for the gallery. To mark the anniversary, founder Shula Nazarian and co-owner Seth Curcio have selected works by more than twenty artists from the gallery’s program. The exhibition will be on view...Read more -
Ken Gun Min
Silverlake Dog Park 21 May - 25 Jun 2022Opening Saturday, May 21, 5–8pm Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles is pleased to present Silverlake Dog Park, a solo exhibition by Korean-born, Los Angeles-based artist Ken Gun Min. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. Silverlake Dog Park draws equally from real and imagined locations in Los Angeles....Read more
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Art Basel: Miami Beach
Ken Gun Min 6 - 8 Dec 2024Ken Gun Min's artistic practice explores themes of identity, space, and marginalization, shaped by his experiences as a gay Asian man navigating life between Los...Read more -
EXPO CHICAGO
Ken Gun Min 13 - 16 Apr 2023For EXPO Chicago 2023, Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to announce a solo presentation by Los Angeles-based artist Ken Gun Min, presenting new works from the...Read more -
NADA Miami
Amir H. Fallah, Daniel Gibson, Ken Gun Min, Maria A. Guzmán Capron, Summer Wheat, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Wendell Gladstone 30 Nov - 3 Dec 2022For NADA Miami 2022, Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to present new works by Berkeley-based artist Maria A. Guzmán Capron; Los Angeles-based artists Amir H. Fallah,...Read more
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Announcing Recent Institutional Acquisitions
June 20, 2024Widline Cadet. Si Ou Ta Dwe Bliye Wout Lakay Ou (Lè Tout Limyè Yo Etenn) (Should You Forget Your Way Home (When All The Lights...Read more -
Ken Gun Min: The Lost Paradise at MCA Denver
March 8 – May 26, 2024 March 5, 2024For his first solo museum exhibition, Ken Gun Min focuses on one of the major throughlines in his practice: landscapes and the natural world. Featuring...Read more -
Ken Gun Min Featured in Strings of Desire Exhibition at Craft Contemporary
January 29, 2023 — May 7, 2023 December 23, 2022Strings OF Desire On View at Craft Contemporary Opening Reception: Saturday, January 28, 2023 6:00pm - 9:00pm $12 General Admission | Free...Read more -
Ken Gun Min Featured in "i know you are, but what am i? (De)Framing Identity and the Body" at Utah MOCA
June 24, 2022 – January 7, 2023 November 9, 2022Utah Museum of Contemporary Art 20 S. West Temple Salt Lake City UT 84101 Plan Your Visit HERE » Ken Gun Min is featured...Read more -
Now Representing Ken Gun Min
August 21, 2022Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to welcome Ken Gun Min to our growing program of artists. Min joins the gallery following his May 2022 solo exhibition,...Read more
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The Guardian: ‘I’m challenging the narrative’: what to expect at this year’s Art Basel Miami
Veronica Esposito, The Guardian , December 6, 2024 -
Forbes: Art Basel Miami Beach 2024: What To Expect At The Main Fair
Cheryl Tiu, Forbes, December 5, 2024 -
The Wall Street Journal: The Best Works at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024
By Brian P. Kelly, The Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2024 -
Artnews: Following the Market’s Banana Boost, Experts’ Outlook for Art Basel Miami Beach Is Bright
Brian Boucher, Artnet, December 1, 2024 -
Ken Gun Min’s Vision of Gay Utopia
David S. Rubin, Hyperallergic, December 6, 2023 -
LA Times: His dreamy art is like nothing you’ve seen before — and explores identity in L.A.
Lisa Boone, LA Times, November 11, 2023 -
Wallpaper* Magazine: Ken Gun Min’s Mixed-Media Montages Reframe Cultural Influences And Queer Identity
South Korean-born, LA-based Ken Gun Min illusively combines painting, embroidery and illustrationPei-Ru Keh, Wallpaper*, September 18, 2023 -
MutualArt: Pride and Ethnicity: Color, Figuration, and Culture
Maya Garabedian, MutualArt, June 27, 2023 -
Frieze: The Best Shows to See in Los Angeles during Frieze
Armando Pulido, Frieze, February 15, 2023 -
Artnet: Emotional Landscapes and Eco-Surrealism: L.A. Art Insiders Ponder What Comes Next After the End of the Figuratio
Alina Cohen, Artnet News, February 14, 2023 -
The Art Newspaper: Eight must-see exhibitions to see during Frieze Los Angeles
Torey Akers, Benjamin Sutton and Claire Voon, The Art Newspaper, February 13, 2023 -
Luxe Magazine: Cultural Crossroads
Written by Monique Mcintosh, Photography by Amy Dickerson, Luxe Magazine, January 15, 2023 -
The Utah Review: Exhibitions about identity, body positivity, best of Utah design arts, a tribute to a beloved grandmoth
Les Roka, The Utah Review, July 13, 2022 -
Hyperallergic: Your Concise Los Angeles Art Guide for June 2022 featuring Ken Gun Min
Caroline Ellen Liou, Hyperallergic, May 31, 2022 -
Artnet News: Ken Gun Min's Fantastical Artworks Bring Together a Whirlwind of Imager
Artnet News, March 8, 2022 -
Art Maze Mag: A Meeting of Two Worlds: Ken Gun Min
Layla Leiman, Art Maze Magazine, August 14, 2019