Artist Biography

Ann J. Kim is a contemporary abstract painter who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. A native of Yeaseoul, South Korea, her tranquil and layered paintings are influenced by her homeland and Southern California's diversity culture. Her distinctive personal style originates from contemplative methods and expresses nature's energetic spirit.

With mystical compositions and bold colors, Ann brings to life local landscapes, environmental issues, and feminist perspectives. She explains, “The first step of my work process is to observe and engage a subject within the theme of humanity's relationship with nature. While I may understand the subject abstractly, I rely on painting to explore my unconscious reflections and to capture the subject's unique identity.”

Ann is receiving an M.F.A. candidate at the California State University Northridge May 2024. She received her B.A. in Painting from CSUN in Spring 2021. Throughout her life, Ann has always been fascinated by images and how the world is represented through others’ perspectives and cultures. Her interest in painting cultivated during her late forties as a conduit for self-expression and has since grown to focus on societal themes of locality, environmental preservation, and feminism.


CV

Born in 1961 in Yeaseoul, South Korea Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

EDUCATION

2021 – 2024

MFA Painting, Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, Communication, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA

2019 – 2021

BA Art, Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, Communication, CSUN, Northridge, CA

2015 – 2019

AA Studio Art, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA 

AWARDS

Public Art, CSUN Sustainability Center

Planters, living milkweed plants for monarch butterflies, Installed in Native Plants Garden CSUN

Solo Exhibitions

2023

A Journey to the Unknown, CSUN Shed Gallery, Northridge, CA

Group Exhibitions

Memory of My Commute Roads, Installation, President Suite Reception, CSUN

2022

A Summer Journal, CSUN Shed Gallery, Northridge, CA

San Fernando Valley, Creativity Crisis Center, Canoga Park, CA

Locality: From Spaces to Places, Installation, President Suite Reception, CSUN

2021

The Seneca effect: Point of Crisis, Installation, President Suite Reception, CSUN

Pandemic Communication, Installation, President Suite Reception, CSUN

2020

SIPARP: Self-Isolation Pandemic Artist’s Residency Program, Professor Samantha Fields

CSUN Department of Art

Common Ground Response: www.aaaaacc.org, CSUN

EXPERIENCE

Art Director, June 2002-December 2021

Koam Construction, Los Angeles, CA 

Served as Art Director for Interior and Exterior Design

  • Koreatown Senior Center, Los Angeles

  • Commercial Buildings 

  • Residential Houses

ART Teaching Intern, July 2011 - August 2015

Sungmo Retreat Center, Wrightwood, CA

  • Developed art teaching information guides for personal use

  • Served as Director’s Assistant for art class program and workshop

St. Matthew Korean Catholic Church, Tujunga, CA 2003-2013

  • Served community voluntary works

SKILLS

  • Proficient with MS Office, Windows, and the Internet

  • Adaptable skill in InDesign, Photo Shop, and Illustration

  • Creative and Detail-oriented skills

  • Drawing and Conceptual development