Layered Traces
Echoes of Memory, Fragments of Time
Sung Kian
Artist Statement
I see all living beings, including myself, as travelers—passing through this world for just a brief moment. Each of us walks a different path, collecting experiences and emotions along the way. Over time, objects that are old and worn stop being just physical remnants. To me, they become vessels of memory, holding traces of life that stretch beyond time and space.
Through my work, I try to capture the delicate balance between the finite and the infinite. I’m deeply drawn to the beauty of the fleeting moment—how it reveals both the richness of life and its impermanence. I use weathered materials not only for their texture, but for the stories they hold. They carry the weight of time and invite quiet reflection on what it means to exist.
In making art, I reflect on my own place in the world. I search for meaning within the passing of time, and in doing so, I hope to leave behind something that lingers—something that speaks to the journey we all share, even as we move through it alone.at mirrors how I feel, think, and navigate the space between clarity and ambiguity.
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Sung Kian is a Korean printmaker whose practice reflects on time, memory, and the impermanence of existence. He earned his MFA in Printmaking from Hongik University and is a member of both the Korean Fine Arts Association and the Korean Association of Contemporary Printmakers. He was named an invited artist to the Korea Grand Art Exhibition in 2018 and later served as a juror for its 37th edition.
Sung’s work has been exhibited widely in Korea and internationally, including solo exhibitions at SIA Art Space The Flux (2024), Hongik University Museum of Contemporary Art (2018), and Sidam Gallery (2022). His group exhibitions span cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, Cologne, New York, and Saskatoon, featuring in major venues like the Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art and the Total Museum of Contemporary Art. He was also part of a four-country touring print exhibition held in Lima, Seoul, Cologne, and New York.
His accolades include the Grand Prize at the 36th Korean Association of Contemporary Printmakers Open Exhibition (2016), the Critic’s Award and the Excellence Award at the Korea Grand Art Exhibition (2016, 2017). Through his deeply introspective work with aged materials and textured surfaces, Sung explores the layered nature of human experience and the quiet beauty of things that endure beyond their prime.
Over the course of her career, Yun has held 25 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 70 group shows across Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. Her recent exhibitions include K-Art Global Exchange Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (2023), The Beauty of Coexistency in Cologne, Germany (2022), and the Post-Prints 2021 show at Kim Hee-Soo Art Center in Seoul. She has also been invited to exhibit at venues such as the Louvre Carrousel in Paris and the Novosibirsk International Triennial in Russia.
Yun’s works have been recognized in major art competitions, including the Korea Grand Art Exhibition and the Gwangju Mudeung Art Exhibition, where she received the Grand Prize in 2018. Her practice reflects a boundless and intuitive approach, often incorporating everyday objects and layered abstraction to express rhythm, emotion, and the in-between spaces of memory and perception.
Over the course of her career, Yun has held 25 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 70 group shows across Korea, Japan, France, Germany, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. Her recent exhibitions include K-Art Global Exchange Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (2023), The Beauty of Coexistency in Cologne, Germany (2022), and the Post-Prints 2021 show at Kim Hee-Soo Art Center in Seoul. She has also been invited to exhibit at venues such as the Louvre Carrousel in Paris and the Novosibirsk International Triennial in Russia.
Yun’s works have been recognized in major art competitions, including the Korea Grand Art Exhibition and the Gwangju Mudeung Art Exhibition, where she received the Grand Prize in 2018. Her practice reflects a boundless and intuitive approach, often incorporating everyday objects and layered abstraction to express rhythm, emotion, and the in-between spaces of memory and perception.
