“Kim, Wooyoung's photographic work has an elementary, fascinating effect. Eschewing the allegorical, they mean nothing beyond themselves; and they have a special impact, to which we will return later. Kim’s work consists in observing everyday things and their emptiness, things which normally remain unperceived. In the deliberately graphic photographic work of Kim, Wooyoung we are shown different aspects of nature, from the microscopic world to the wideness of the “empty” ocean with no horizon. Captured with small rain drop craters or bubbles, the surface we see in the image could belong to the moon or the ocean.“

 

- Dr. Gerhard Bartsch (Professor of philosophy and history of art, Hamburg University)

 

 

“Kim Woo Young's photographs are delicate and sensitive despite the overwhelming size of the images and the tremendous amount of work involved. It is because of the subtle and intriguing placement of minute details such as color, lines, and textures that could easily go unnoticed in the vast photographs. His photographs reveal duality from various perspectives, harmonizing masculine grand forms with feminine delicate sensibilities, obsession with enduring vitality and premonitions of death, as well as the coexistence of free and dynamic Western-style formalism

with meditative and tranquil Eastern elements. In that sense, it is no coincidence that Kim Woo Young completed both the North American Industrial City series and the Korean Hanok series together.”

 

- Shin Hye Kyung (Artist)

 

 

“In terms of form, deserts may seem monotonous compared to cities or forests. However, the artist devotes themselves to the unique light and colors of the desert, exploring the diverse spectrum of

light that photography can express, often calling it the art of light. These light and colors emphasize the primal and rugged nature of the desert, evoking the raw landscapes of sand dunes and rocky textures reminiscent of primitive landscapes. His desert series saturates his frames with the beige tones and deep blue colors of the harsh desert, while the contrasting combination of green, purple, and white effectively expresses the wilderness of the ancient desert, creating a harmonious blend of complementary colors that renders the desert even more mysterious."

 

- Shin Hye Kyung (Artist)

 

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“ I claimed early on that to understand his visual language, you had to talk/think in dualities: hard/soft, delicate/bold, sensual/intellectual, serene/disturbing, and, in the subtlest of ways, life/death. These dyads hadn’t so much changed as mutated; it was just that over time he’d become more masterful in juggling these concerns in ever more nuanced and unexpected ways.(…)

Woo Young, never very interested in deep space, is instead concerned with sightlines, placement and stance. He is painstaking in figuring out where and when to best position himself and his camera. (…)

In the Boulevard/Boulevard series, he very carefully picks his spot so our gaze and attention doubles and mirrors his own.”

 

- Abby Robinson (Photographer)

 

 

"The artist was once trapped at Soswaewon (瀟灑園 : the Garden of the Jose on Dynasty located in Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do) in Damyang for a while during a heavy snowfall. He discovered the lines and structures of a hanok amidst the land covered in white snow as the night passed by and dawn came. At that moment, a thought came into his mind: “This is it!” The line and structure of the house he discovered through this unintentional and unavoidable experience of being trapped in Mother Nature clearly approached him as some kind of life form. That is, in the midst of the earth bathed in warm white hues and the silence of heaven and earth, the artist was struck by the elegant lines of the roof made of tile colonnades, pillars, and beams bearing the traces of time, as well as the rafters and podiums that are surprisingly freewheeling yet retain the rhythm of nature in an orderly manner, and the innocent foundation stones which had naturally settled in the wall. He realized these elements created the simple, humble, and classical aesthetic of the hanok."

 

- Kim Mi Ryoung (Independent Curator, Art Studies)