Kim Joon (Korean, b.1966) was born in Seoul, Korea. He attended Hongik University in Seoul, where he received a BA in Painting and a MA in Painting. He was a soldier in the Korean military and also a professor at the Kongju National University. The artist examines the meaning of tattoo as a social phenomenon and uniquely human act through body painting; he explores the identity of the body as a shell. Joon gained critical acclaim and exposure in the international art scene after the Korean Eye Show in 2009 at the Saatchi Gallery in London, and when his work, Birdland-Armani, was auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong for almost twice its estimated price.

In 2012, he held a solo exhibition of his Blue Jean Blues series in New York and Seoul. These works explore themes of desire, memory, and youth through the use of porcelain. Joon created compositions out of tableware, fragments of idealized nudes, and icons of Western pop culture, and juxtaposed traditional Asian motifs with new media.

The artist’s works have been displayed around the world, including at the Total Museum in Seoul, Korea, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Kwachon, Korea, the Canvas International Art Gallery in Amsterdam, the Alexander Ochs Galleries in Berlin, the Gallery Hyundai in Paris, and the Sabina Lee Gallery in Los Angeles. Joon currently lives and works in Seoul.