When I met Korean Artist Hunkyu Kim he was sat in his studio in East London, surrounded by the most incredible, meticulously painted and vibrant coloured canvases, as he put the finishing touches to several paintings, for his upcoming exhibition at the Perrotin Gallery in Seoul, South Korea.

‘I don’t know why, but I’ve loved art and dreamed of becoming an artist since I was in nursery. Thankfully my parents were always really supportive of me, especially my mother who always had a deep interest in the arts ( and now actually works as a photographier today) .’

Early on in his artisic journey, whilst still living in Korea Hunkyu trained in the restoration of Eastern Paintings, studying in the College of Fine Art at Seoul National University. Then when he moved to the UK, inspired by the freedom and diversity that he experienced in Europe, he developed his own very distinctive painting style, using the traditional techniques he’d learn and used to restore great buddhist paintings with contemporary art of western culture. That led to his being noticed even before he finished his MA at The Royal Academy of Arts, and getting gallery representation as soon as he graduated, and then exhibiting at the The Frieze Art fair just a few months later.

Almost 10 years on, whilst his heart will always be in South Korea, he says London and the UK is definitely where he feels most at home and he loves the freedom, diversity and contemporary western cultures that really inspire his work. Hyunku regularly exhibits his work in Paris , Seoul and here in London and sells his paintings internationally.

Click here for more artists from my ‘Portraits of Artists in their studios’ project

or follow on Instagram @nathanclarkephotography

Also you can check out more of Hunkyu Kim’s work by clicking here

Images Copyright of London Photographer Nathan Clarke | For any image use or enquiries contact me at nathan@nathanclarkephotography.co.uk

Click here to check out more Portrait Photography by Nathan Clarke