Min's work invites viewers into vividly constructed worlds that reflect his experiences as a gay Asian man navigating life between Los Angeles and Seoul. These works transcend the visual, offering a multilayered discourse on queer identity and the spaces—both physical and metaphorical—it inhabits.
Ken Gun Min‘s artistic practice bridges a poignant personal narrative with a universal exploration of identity, marginalization, and resilience. Presented by Nazarian / Curcio at Art Basel Miami Beach, Min’s work invites viewers into vividly constructed worlds that reflect his experiences as a gay Asian man navigating life between Los Angeles and Seoul. These works transcend the visual, offering a multilayered discourse on queer identity and the spaces—both physical and metaphorical—it inhabits.
Ken Gun Min, “Revolution Is Love (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?),” 2024, Detail; Onyx, Crystal, Assorted Gem Stones, Vintage Beads, Korean Pigment, Silk Embroidery Thread, Found Fabric, Oil Paint On Canvas; 84 X 67 In, 213.4 X 170.2 Cm, Image Courtesy Of The Artist And Nazarian / Curcio.
Crafting the Duality of Queer Utopias
At the heart of Min’s work lies a duality: the interweaving of trauma and celebration, intimacy and universality, beauty and violence. By transforming public and private spaces into richly imagined landscapes, Min crafts queer utopias that examine the intersections of personal history, social marginalization, and cultural heritage. His use of lush botanical imagery, celestial motifs, and nude figures serves as both an aesthetic and political gesture, challenging prevailing narratives around queerness, masculinity, and Asian identity.
Min’s landscapes are deeply symbolic, blending realism with dreamlike abstraction to create spaces that speak to his dual existence in Los Angeles and Seoul. These locations, marked by stark contrasts in cultural norms and queer acceptance, become the backdrop against which Min reflects on violence, resilience, and the enduring quest for belonging. His depictions of nude figures, often imbued with vulnerability and sensuality, reclaim visibility for queer bodies within traditionally heteronormative or patriarchal visual traditions.
This reclamation extends into Min’s botanical imagery and celestial elements. Flowers and stars appear throughout his work, representing fragility and endurance, beauty and transcendence. These motifs act as metaphors for queer existence—flourishing in adversity, defying systemic erasure, and celebrating the multiplicity of queer experiences.
Installation View Of Ken Gun Min’s Exhibition With Nazarian / Curcio At Art Basel Miami Beach; Courtesy Of The Artist And Nazarian / Curcio. Blending Western and East Asian Artistic Traditions
Min’s recent works demonstrate a sophisticated blending of Western and East Asian artistic traditions, a reflection of his cultural hybridity. Large-scale paintings and reimagined folding screens serve as vehicles for this fusion. His intricate folding screens, in particular, are standout examples of his practice. Rooted in traditional Korean and Japanese art forms, these works reinterpret historical precedents through a contemporary queer lens.
Min employs Korean pigments alongside European oil techniques, creating surfaces that are both delicate and vibrant. Hand-embroidered glass beads and gemstones embellish the works, paying homage to feminized craft practices often dismissed in male-dominated art histories. This commitment to honoring craft extends into his application of Japanese book-binding techniques, which lend a tactile intimacy to his folding screens. The result is a body of work that is simultaneously elegant and subversive, questioning the binaries of high and low art, masculine and feminine, traditional and contemporary.
These folding screens also challenge the notion of the colonial gaze. Historically, such screens were objects of desire and exoticization in Western markets. By reclaiming and reinterpreting this format, Min critiques the exoticizing lens through which Asian art and identity have often been viewed. His screens become both a site of contemplation and a statement of agency, inviting viewers to reflect on issues of visibility, desire, and power dynamics.
Installation View Of Ken Gun Min’s Exhibition With Nazarian / Curcio At Art Basel Miami Beach; Courtesy Of The Artist And Nazarian / Curcio. Exploring Public and Private Spaces
Min’s exploration of public and private spaces is central to his practice. These spaces, often intertwined with questions of visibility and safety for queer communities, are reimagined in his work as sanctuaries of resilience and celebration. By transforming urban environments into fantastical realms, Min confronts the violence and marginalization faced by queer individuals, while simultaneously offering visions of empowerment and possibility.
His treatment of masculinity is equally nuanced. Through his portraits and landscapes, Min challenges the rigid constructs of masculinity that dominate both Western and Asian cultures. His queer male figures, rendered with tenderness and complexity, disrupt stereotypes and highlight overlooked narratives within queer communities. These depictions are not just acts of representation but also assertions of power, reclaiming the queer male body as a site of beauty, strength, and subversive potential.
Ken Gun Min, “The Vastness Is Bearable Only Through Love (Homage To Carl Sagan, Robert Chanler),” 2024, Onyx, Crystal, Assorted Gemstones, Vintage Beads, Korean Pigment, Silk Embroidery Thread, Found Fabric, Oil Paint On Canvas, 92 X 150 In, 233.7 X 381 Cm, Each Panel: 92 X 75 In, 233.7 X 190.5 Cm; Image Courtesy Of The Artist And Nazarian / Curcio.
Creating a Space for Critical Engagement
While Min’s work is undeniably beautiful, its allure serves a deeper purpose. The lushness of his imagery and the tactile intricacy of his materials draw viewers in, creating a space for critical engagement with themes of violence, marginalization, and resilience. This interplay of beauty and violence is a recurring motif in his practice, reflecting the dual realities of queer existence.
By embedding these themes within works of exquisite craftsmanship, Min challenges viewers to confront the dissonance between surface beauty and underlying struggle. His work becomes a form of resistance—using beauty as a means to disrupt, provoke, and reframe conversations around identity and power.
Installation View Of Ken Gun Min’s Exhibition With Nazarian / Curcio At Art Basel Miami Beach; Courtesy Of The Artist And Nazarian / Curcio. A Standout Show in Depth and Relevance
Nazarian Curio’s presentation of Ken Gun Min’s work at Art Basel Miami Beach is a testament to the growing recognition of his contributions to contemporary art. In a fair known for its global scope and high-profile audience, Min’s practice stands out for its depth and relevance. His ability to weave personal narrative with broader social and cultural themes resonates in a world increasingly attuned to issues of identity, representation, and intersectionality.
At the intersection of tradition and innovation, beauty and subversion, Min’s work speaks to the complexities of queer and Asian identities in contemporary society. His richly imagined queer utopias offer not only a critique of existing structures but also a vision of possibility—a testament to the transformative power of art.
By showcasing Ken Gun Min, Nazarian Curcio underscores the importance of amplifying voices that challenge norms and expand our understanding of identity and space. Min’s work is not just a reflection of his personal journey but a broader invitation to rethink the landscapes we inhabit—both physically and metaphorically—and the narratives we construct within them. In doing so, he reaffirms art’s capacity to foster dialogue, empathy, and change.
Ken Gun Min, “Elegy To The Moon (Homage To Clair De Lune),” 2024, Onyx, Crystal, Assorted Gemstones, Vintage Beads, Korean Pigment, Silk Embroidery Thread, Found Fabric, Oil Paint On Canvas, 50 X 36 In, 127 X 91.4 Cm, Image Courtesy Of The Artist And Nazarian / Curcio.
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