Writings - Im Sunny

Writings

Statements

Still life “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”

The ‘Still life_The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ is inspired by Milan Kundera’s novel 『The Unbearable Lightness of Being』. The core concept of the series visualizes the tension and duality within human existence through the lens of “kitsch,” one of the novel’s

2025

Texts

The Planarity Journey in Artist Im Sunny’s Colorful Paintings

Lim Sunhee’s (b. 1975) colorful artworks may look like regular paintings that depict objects, scenery, or some sort of image. Lined Blue Ring Angelfish II (2019) resembles an aquarium filled with brilliantly colored fish, while Magritte_The Discovery of Fire (2022) seems to depict a dream in which a floating brass instrument is on fire somewhere on land where the sun sets.

2022.09.12

Statements

Harmonize the Formal Language of Painting with Emotional Depth

Since 2015, my painting practice has been grounded in a sustained inquiry into the fundamentals of the medium. Beginning with a formal investigation, I have explored the core components of painting—flatness, line, color, brushstroke, point of view, and layered surfaces—placing these elements at the center of my work.

2022

Texts

Artist Im Sunny Explores the Essence of Painting: “I reveal the hidden sides of seemingly meaningless objects through my own formative elements.”

Im Sunny has long been active in the field of video art. What led her, after so many years, to return to painting—traditional painting—just two years ago? We met the artist at ‘Cafe M Gallery’ in Daechi-dong, where her recent works are on view, to hear her thoughts on the value of fine painting.

2017.08.01

Criticisms

On "Flatness" in Im Sunny’s Painting:《The Flat》Exhibition

In recent painting, contemporary relevance is achieved less through the invention of new forms or subjects than through a renewed attentiveness to how painting is perceived, interpreted, and framed. Increasingly, artists engage in a meta-critical reflection on the content and structure of traditional painting, revealing new perspectives embedded within its inherited conventions.

2015