Asia NOW 2025

As one of the leading artists of modern Korean experimental art, KIM Soun-Gui (b. 1946) first introduced experimental performance art and conceptual art to the Korean art scene in the late 1960s. From the start of her career, KIM incorporated philosophy and technology into her experimental practice in the form of various genres such as video, multimedia, sound art, performance, photography, and drawing. KIM, who took an interest in the deconstruction of painting during her time at university, was invited by the Centre Artistique de Rencontre International, Nice in 1971 to continue her practice in France. KIM began employment at École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Marseille in 1974 and soon began to work closely with experimental artist groups such as “Supports/Surfaces” in southern France. In 1982, the artist backpacked around the world, exploring both the art and culture of the East and the West. During her stay in New York, she collaborated with video artists such as Nam June Paik, Ko Nakajima, Ira Schneider, and Frank Gillette. With her deepening interest in video and multimedia, she organized Video & Multimedia: Soungui KIM and Her Invitees in 1986 with the participation of artists including Nam June Paik and John Cage and presented works that combined objet and video, such as Tatata and Vide&O. From the late 1980s she presented works that confronted issues relating to the structural changes in society as the direct result of the spread of global capitalism and the Internet. She went on to produce the “Stock Exchange” project—taking on a critical viewpoint of civilization in which the value of capital takes priority over all other values—and carried out interviews with world-renowned aestheticians, including Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy, to discuss the role of art in the neoliberal era.

KIM, who has been living and working in Paris, France since 1971, held a large-scale retrospective exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea in 2019 and again at the ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany in 2022. Her works are included in the permanent collections of major institutions including Centre Pompidou, France; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; Maison Européenne De La Photographie, France; FRAC Franche-Comté, France; Seoul Museum of Art, Korea and many more.

Yohan HÀN (b. 1983) explores intuitive forms of sensation mediated through the body and action, working across sculptural objects, performance, and media installations. His practice draws connections between elements found in primitive rituals and indigenous belief systems and the sensory experiences shaped by today’s digital media environment. He investigates how digital technologies reshape our perception of the body, while questioning the persistence of “physical sensation” in an era where “physical presence is increasingly disappearing.” A central motif in his work is the drum—crafted from animal skin—a percussive instrument not only rooted in musical tradition but also used as a ritualistic tool in various spiritual cultures. For HÀN, the drum becomes a symbolic medium that bridges the material and immaterial, the body and the spirit, enabling resonance and ritual communication within a collective context. He incorporates traditional drum-making techniques from diverse cultural backgrounds into his creative process and uses performance to reactivate forgotten gestures, engaging the audience through tactile, bodily interaction.

Yohan HÀN was born in 1983 in Trappes, France, and is currently based in Seoul, Korea. He received his Master’s degree in Department of Arts from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2016 and earned the National Diploma from the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts de Paris-Cergy in 2019. He has held solo exhibitions at venues including Soorim Cube (Seoul, Korea, 2023), Parliament Gallery (Paris, France, 2022), and Gallery Chosun (Seoul, Korea, 2019). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions and projects at institutions such as the Cheongju Museum of Art (Cheongju, Korea, 2025; 2020), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon, Korea, 2021), Kumho Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea, 2021), the Centre Pompidou (Paris, France, 2017), Espace des arts sans frontières (Paris, France, 2015; 2014), and Espace Pierre Cardin (Paris, France, 2014). His residency experience includes the MMCA Goyang Residency, Art Space Geumcheon, Cheongju Art Studio, La Générale (Paris), and the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris). His works are included in collections such as the Cheongju Museum of Art.