Meet Angie Kim

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angie Kim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Angie, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from the rhythm of making — layering, revealing, and concealing.
When I moved to New York for my MFA, I often felt uncertain and out of place. I extended that uncertainty into my work and tried something new. Through working with fragile materials like paper pulp and latex, I learned that resilience isn’t about resisting change — it’s about transforming with it.

Every tear, crack, or unexpected result became part of the process rather than a failure.
Over time, that mindset shaped how I face challenges in life too: with patience, curiosity, and quiet persistence.
To me, resilience means absorbing change and still finding beauty in what remains.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a visual artist working across painting and sculpture, often blurring the boundary between the two.
My practice explores the relationship between the body, emotion, and organic forms — how inner feelings can be materialized through layers, textures, and transformation. I often use materials like handmade paper pulp, latex, wax, and ceramics to express both fragility and strength, beauty and discomfort.

What excites me most is the process itself — the way materials shift, resist, and find new balance over time. Each layer I build or conceal reflects the rhythm of healing and change.

Recently, I’ve been preparing for Art in Action New York 2025 and CICA Museum’s upcoming exhibition in Korea, where I’ll show new paintings that evolve from my sculptural language. Through these works, I continue to search for a balance between what is hidden and what wants to be revealed — both in form and in emotion.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I think three qualities have been most impactful in my journey: patience, sensitivity, and openness.

Patience — because my process takes time. I build, tear, and rebuild, and that repetition taught me to embrace slowness instead of rushing toward results.
Sensitivity — because I believe art begins with how deeply you feel. Being sensitive to materials, emotions, and small shifts in energy helps me translate something invisible into form.
And openness — because growth only happens when I’m willing to be uncomfortable, to experiment, and to fail.

For those early in their journey, I’d say: trust your rhythm. Don’t force progress — let your curiosity lead, even when it feels uncertain. The most meaningful transformations often happen quietly, in the background, while you keep showing up.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Right now, my biggest challenge is finding balance — between sustaining my art practice and sustaining myself.
After graduating, I entered what feels like the most uncertain period of my life. The structure of school is gone, and the pressure to make a living as an artist feels heavier than ever. I’m learning how to navigate both worlds — to keep creating work that feels honest while also building stability outside of it.

In my studio, I’ve been translating that tension into my process. I use fragile materials like paper pulp and latex that require care and patience, almost like a mirror of my current life. I’m trying to remind myself that uncertainty can also be a material — something to shape, not fear.

To overcome this, I focus on consistency. Even on difficult days, I go to the studio, touch the materials, and let small gestures accumulate. It’s not about immediate success, but about building a rhythm that allows me to keep going — slowly, but truthfully.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: meduduk_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-kim-72542b274/