Lim Il-min

Man with a Red Bag, 184.8 × 60.1 cm, Mixed media on cotton, 2025

Artist Lim Il-min, who is holding his second solo exhibition, does not stop at projecting the various emotions he experienced in his childhood, such as the lack of affection and suppressed inner self, onto the figures on the canvas, but rather expands upon this with new methods of expression to present impressive works that lead to the purification (release) of human emotions.

Blonde Woman, 185.1 × 60.4 cm, Mixed media on cotton, 2025

The way he portrays his characters, which at first glance evoke the works of Egon Schiele, stems from the artist’s unique inner self. As a child, Lim Il-min was unable to receive proper parental love, which naturally led to a lack of affection within him. During my formative years, I suppressed my feelings of wanting to fill the love I lacked, and became obsessed with creating and presenting an image that others would like.

Man in a Navy Coat, 120 × 60 cm, Mixed media on cotton, 2025

However, such suppressed emotions and such obsession with intentional image-making actually brought about an inexplicable emptiness and anxiety. Moreover, the suppression of emotions and the obsession with meeting the expectations of others caused the author’s own emotional turmoil. However, since the artist began to hold a brush during his school days, he has sublimated these childhood wounds into art, and through this, he has pursued and expressed artistic exploration and healing of the essential aspects of the human mind.

Girl Holding a Puppy Doll,120.5 x 60.2 cm, Mixed media on cotton, 2025

Even in the process of finding the right materials to perfectly express the character he wanted to portray, he did not hesitate to experiment, and his world of work utilizing various oriental painting materials shows the unique originality of artist Lim Il-min that is similar to the work of Egon Schiele, yet different. His unique character concepts, based on his distinctive artistic worldview, hold infinite potential for expansion in terms of subject matter, composition, and theme. This “Catharsis” exhibition, his second solo exhibition, showcases twelve new works from 2025.

KIDARI GALLERY
3-5, Sinseo-ro 21-gil, Dong-gu, Daegu, 41067, South Korea
+82-70-7566-5995

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