Hemyeong Kim to present solo show at London's Bonhams

Hemyeong Kim will have a solo exhibition under the title “Hemyeong” at British Auctioneer Bonhams’ headquarters in Mayfair, central London, from Oct. 7 to 13, becoming the first Korean artist to present a solo exhibition at one of the world’s oldest auctioneers.

The exhibition will coincide with the Frieze London global art fair from Oct. 11 to 15 in Regent’s Park. Kim’s exhibition at Bonhams’ will feature her “Constellation Links” series, according to the artist.

Kim, who studied Korean traditional painting at Seoul National University, has used pigments, ink and hanji -- or traditional Korean mulberry paper -- to create the “Constellation Links” series that embodies human dreams and desires. Some of the paintings show groups of stars painted all over a body or face, as if to show how the history of humankind is correlated to the universe.

“I was an ardent workaholic for 50 years. After various injuries and incalculable amounts of work, I began to ask questions about the ‘body’ and its formation,” the artist said on her work.

Founded in 1793, Bonhams offers fine art, antiques and collectibles. The London-based auction house runs 14 salesrooms around the globe, including in New York, Boston, Paris, Brussels, Sydney and Hong Kong.

Kim’s exhibition will take place along with two presentations of postwar contemporary art and Impressionism at Bonhams' headquarters. Also known as Kim Seong-heui, the artist is a professor at Seoul National University College of Fine Arts; Hemyeong is Kim's pseudonym. Kim served as the director of Seoul National University Museum of Art from 2014 to 2016.