Bio
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Dong Kyu Kim incorporates his background in the global fashion manufacturing industry into a critique of labor and value within the capitalist system. Having navigated the industrial landscapes of East Asia, Latin America, and North America, Kim utilizes textile methodologies to archive the debris of consumerism.
His work transforms traces of consumption—anchored by thermal receipts—into monumental soft sculptures. Through the repetitive, meditative act of sewing, Kim visualizes the often-invisible labor of the immigrant workforce and questions the stability of the "American Dream" in a fluctuating global economy. Kim’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the Minot State University and the Newark Museum. He was awarded the New Jersey Individual Artist Fellowship in 2021 and participated in the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. He received his B.F.A. from Kookmin University. |
Education
2001 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea
Exhibitions
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FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES
2021 | Individual Artist Fellowship (Crafts), New Jersey State Council on the Arts, NJ 2017 – 2018 | Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Newark, NJ SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2026 After Consumption, the Remnants Ask, The Green Gallery, Buena Park, CA 2023 Collective Memories, Particle Place, Seoul, South Korea 2022 My Body is a Battleground, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, FL Becoming American, Minot State University, Minot, ND Everything Must Go, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY 2021 Documented Identity, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD Imminent Archive: George Bolster & Dong Kyu Kim, Rule Gallery, Marfa, TX(Two Person Show) 2020 Consuming Memories, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD The Stranger in Heaven, Kreft Center Gallery, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI 2019 American Dream, University of Maine at Farmington, ME American Stitches, Wakeley Gallery, Illinois Wesleyan Univ. Ames School of Art, Bloomington, IL 2018 United Stitches, New Jersey Emerging Artist 2018 – 2019, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ SELECTED AWARDS & HONORS 2024 | 3rd Place, Stars and Stripes, Adrian College's Hickman Gallery, Adrian, MI 2022 | Current Statement Award, The Fusion of Fiber Arts, Surface Design Association International 2022 | First Prize, Textiles and Fiber Art Juried Exhibition, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE 2022 | 2nd Place, The 6th Louisiana Biennial, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA 2020 | Best in Show, Material Identity, Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, Loveland, CO 2019 | Category Award (Wearables), Excellence in Fibers V, Fiber Art Now 2019 | First Prize, Combined Talents, Florida State University Museum of Arts, Tallahassee, FL 2019 | First Prize, Cimarron National Works on Paper, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 2019 | Best of Show, Permanence and Change, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI 2019 | First Prize, National Juried Exhibit, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD 2018 | First Prize, In Black and White, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL 2018 | 2nd Place, The 24th Juried Contemporary Art Exhibition, Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2026
ARTIST TALKS & DEMONSTRATIONS 2022 | Visiting Artist & Lecturer, Minot State University, ND 2022 | Juror-Artist Talk, Surface Design Association 2021 | Bojagi: The Rhythm of Stitching (with Youngmin Lee), Surface Design Association 2019 | The Sewing Man Performance, Flushing Town Hall, NY 2018 | Fashioning Memory, Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University, NJ 2017 | The Sewing Man, Korean Cultural Center (Art All Night), Washington, D.C. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 2024 | Surface Design Journal, "Embracing the Unexpected" (9th Annual International Exhibition in Print) 2023 | Fiber Art Now, "Excellence in Fibers 8" (Winter Issue) 2021 | CarolineKipp.com, "Social Distancing Studio Visits" (Interview by Caroline Kipp) 2019 | Fredericksburg Literary and Art Review, "American Dream/The United Stitches: Dong Kyu Kim" (Vol. 7) |
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN GLOBAL INDUSTRY
2007 – Present | Fashion Design Director (USA)
- Chronostitch Lab and Studio (Founder) / Huge, INC / Wicked Fashion, INC
- Directed design and production processes in the US fashion market, analyzing consumer trends and waste cycles.
- Qingdao Gold Dragon Trade Co. (China) / Grupo Rhinox & IFCO (Mexico) / Yupoong Inc. (Korea)
- Managed large-scale manufacturing lines in China and Mexico; gained firsthand insight into the global labor hierarchy and textile supply chains.