Po Kim, Korean-American Abstract Expressionist and Figurative Painter, Dies at 96
Pohyun Kim, also recognized as Po Kim, died on February 7, 2014, at the age of ninety-six, leaving behind a legacy as a trailblazing Korean-American artist. He grew up in poverty and pursued studies in art and law in Tokyo between 1937 and 1946, later establishing the Department of Fine Arts at Chosun University. In the 1950s, he moved to the United States as a political refugee, facing initial hardships in New York. His artistic evolution spanned Abstract Expressionism from 1957 to 1965, a transition to hard-edged color blocks after a 1965 trip to Europe, and realistic figures in the 1970s. In the 1960s, he wed artist Sylvia Wald and launched the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery in 2005. In 2000, Kim contributed over three hundred pieces to Chosun University.
Key facts
- Po Kim died on February 7, 2014, at age 96.
- He immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s as a political exile from Korea.
- Kim founded the Department of Fine Arts at Chosun University and taught there for nine years.
- He produced Abstract Expressionist paintings from 1957 to 1965, influenced by Eastern ink painting and the New York School.
- In 1965-66, a European trip shifted his style to hard-edged color blocks reminiscent of Matisse.
- He transitioned to realistic figurative work in the 1970s using colored pencil on paper.
- Kim donated over 300 artworks to Chosun University in 2000, where a gallery is dedicated to him and his wife Sylvia Wald.
- He and Wald established the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery at 417 Lafayette Street in New York in 2005.
Entities
Artists
- Po Kim
- Pohyun Kim
- Sylvia Wald
- Lenore Tawney
- Agnes Martin
- Matisse
- Gauguin
- Sukie Park
Institutions
- Chosun University
- University of Illinois
- United States Information Service
- NYCultureBeat
- Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery
- artcritical
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Korea
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Lower Manhattan
- Europe
- 417 Lafayette Street