Jean Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. She earned her BFA in painting from West Virginia University in Morgantown and received her MFA in studio art at American University in Washington, D.C. Throughout the early 2010s Jean Kim moved away from painting and began experimenting with found art and mixed media. She began using ordinary household items that were seemingly insignificant and began transforming them into something extraordinary through her art. The idea of transformation, validation, and empowerment is present throughout all of her work and continues to be a source of her inspiration. After the 2020 pandemic, Her medium drastically became more figurative and focused on the conceptual transformation of ideas through her art. Though the medium has changed, the idea of transformation and empowerment became more direct and potent. 

 

Jean Jinho Kim has been the subject of one-artist exhibitions at Interconnection, curated by Grace Ji, Korean Community Center, Tenafly, NJ (2022); Thinking Out Loud, curated by Judy Southerland, Studio Gallery, Washington, D.C. (2020); Big Leap, curated by Susan Main, VisArts 355 Pod Space, Rockville, MD (2020); Overlooked Perspective, Gilchrist Museum of the Arts, Cumberland MD (2018)

 

Significant recent group exhibitions include Interlude, Kreeger Museum, Washington DC (2023); Soft Power, Pazo Gallery, South Kensington, MD (2022); Boundless, Korean Culture Center, Washington DC (2022); Inside Outside, Upside Down, The Philips Collection, Washington DC (2021); Deep Flash, Vis Arts, Rockville, MD (2018)