Meet Kyoungho Kim

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kyoungho Kim. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kyoungho below.

Hi Kyoungho, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I grew up watching my immigrant parents locked in their desks for hours working on academic projects. Since they were both professors, their work ethic was present in the house. I am realizing how much that plays a role in my life. Unlike them, I lock-in in my art studio. As a painter, it is essential that I spend a good amount of time in my week finessing the brush to create paintings. I am known as a dedicated painter among my peers. I spend many, many hours in the studio. It is a place where I express my resistance to the norms of society. Maybe that’s what my parents were doing. Maybe they were proving that they have a role, an important one. That they have a purpose in this country or even in this world. In this life time, I want to leave a legacy. I want to leave a legacy that prolongs this practice. I want to be part of the conversation. That is where my work ethic comes from.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am soon to be an mfa graduate from LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting in a week. This makes me in a very odd place to talk about myself. The transitions is going to be odd and uncomfortable. So bare with me.

I am a painter. I am an artist that enjoys connecting with the community. I have been involved in the community of Batlimore City in Maryland. So far, I have been part of an artist collective started with few of my friends called Flying House Arts Collective. We so far did an art fair, a group exhibition, and workshops. Thankfully the local businesses have been generous enough to be collaborating with the conditions we have as students. In the future, we plan to work more with the local artists and community. There will be more events happening from us and I am happy to share them with community.

I believe art is meant to be shown and in conversation with the people. I do not think the usual artist route is bad. I personally would love to be in that path. But, I am not the type of person to just be waiting for opportunities. So, I have been very active in vibrating and communicating with creatives in my area. I look forward in continuing my artistic practice along with the collective work I do.

I know I have not been talking about my actual art practice. I honestly want to say that my paintings are about painting which is a very long conversation.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

That’s an interesting question.
I think for me networking has to be mentioned. In the past 10 years, I have moved in three different parts of the world. Getting to know the people who share similar interests with me was more than a career thing. It was a survival tactic. Knowing the people allowed me to feel safe in every aspect of my life. I strongly encourage others to get themselves out and find their own community. It is very important to find your community. No one does things alone. That is such a lie the media portrays. It is all teamwork. Yes, teamwork is another one. I find this one hard because I am such an odd individual. But, I also acknowledge that I suck sometimes. Actually, many times. I need my team to get shit done. So, not being a burden to my team and also letting them know when they are slacking is something I learned. Teamwork definitely makes the dreamwork.
Last but not least, I can not stress to highlight how essential it is to know how to communicate. That can mean many things. The communication skill I am talking about is like yapping. You gotta know how to yap. It is like passing information in the most digestible way. It’s like picking fruit and other stuff to make pastry. It also shows how much an interesting person you are.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X is a book I randomly read out of the blue in my undergrad at a local library. That book changed my life in certain ways. I became a self-claimed intellectual after reading about Malcolm X’s passion on reading. It is embarrassing to admit, but I started reading books with a lot of words since I was 20. Before that, the only books I read were Japanese manga.
I really live for Malcolm X’s word on his battle with the White man. I think he said something like if he didn’t have to battle them, he would be spending his time reading all the books he wants to. Dude is loweky just someone who loves to learn new things. I admire that spirit.
The other impactful wise words would be something a white man told me. This dude went to the same community college art course with me who was probably someone’s father. He told me something very simple. He told me to keep going further.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterp_ainter/