Lara Kim is a contemporary artist born in South Korea, actively working today. She is recognized both domestically and internationally for her innovative approach to art and unique expression. In 2021, she won the prestigious A’ Design Award in Italy in the Arts, Crafts and Ready-Made Design category, and was also named a Lifetime Honorific Designer by the World Design Consortium. She additionally received the Organizing Committee Award at the 32nd Korea Art International Exhibition.

She continues to actively present her artworks in Korea through solo exhibitions and various group shows. And her artworks have expanded beyond Korea to the global stage, and have been exhibited at renowned venues.

Can you tell us about your background and how you started your artistic journey?

Lara Kim was born in South Korea. Her artistic journey began with questions about life, existence, and survival. Rather than relying on binary judgments such as “true or false,” it was rooted in inner contemplation based on imagination that considers all possibilities. She believed that by questioning familiar frameworks and imagining beyond them, one could gain new perspectives that reveal the essence and core often overlooked by familiarity. In her childhood, she simply enjoyed the act of drawing. But as time passed, questions rooted in wonder and imagination about the essence of the world began to emerge.Those questions never ceased, and her desire to express them grew ever deeper. She sought to capture subtle and nuanced realms that words could not reach, and eventually began to express that world through the nonverbal language of painting. At the time, she did not dream of becoming a professional artist, nor did she ever consider herself particularly skilled at drawing. Her creative acts were simply natural attempts to quench a deep inner thirst. Just as many people sustain their mentality through music, writing, or contemplation, she, too, sought to hold on to her existence through painting. 

Nevertheless, she spent a period of her life pursuing various professions, striving to find her place within the comforts of worldly stability. Yet each time she was deprived of the time to imagine, to reflect, and to express, she felt herself drifting further from reality emotionally unraveling in the process. Life gradually became desolate, and in the end, she came to a profound realization: that to imagine was not a luxury, but a vital means of survival. From that moment on, she made the decision to live as an artist. It meant committing to a life of seeking creative answers drawn from imagination to the persistent questions rising from within. She came to understand that only through such a life could she fully exist. Now, the time she devotes to imagining and expressing has become the very center of her life, and through it, she is finally able to exist within reality. The life of an artist, for her, is both a journey of self-realization and a reconciliation with the world. And this journey continues to these days.

How do you stay inspired and motivated to create new work?

As Lara Kim moves through life, she is constantly questioning, imagining, and gaining insights through that inner process. Each of these internal experiences becomes a profound source of inspiration for her. That inspiration doesn’t remain as mere thought it stirs emotions and sensations that pull her into a world of imagination where all possibilities open up. This, in turn, leads to an intense urge to express it visually. For this reason, she cannot help but paint. Painting is a way for her to materialize what she feels, to process and release her desires. It is also, though metaphorical, the most honest way of expressing her inner world. This urge to express arises frequently and powerfully within her, and each time, she naturally begins to imagine and paint. In fact, if she does not continue creating new works, she feels discomfort as if her most basic needs are left unmet.

Color plays a strong role in your work—how do you approach choosing your palette?

When she first picked up a brush and started to paint the canvas, color was merely a matter of choice. Her focus was primarily on form and concept on visualizing inner thought. Color simply followed, guided naturally by the emotion or impulse of that specific moment. But as time passed and her work expanded more deeply into the realms of imagination and symbolism, she began to realize that color was not just a visual ornament. It was an essential language one that added emotional depth and meaning. Now, color has become more than a tool of expression; it is a subject of philosophical inquiry. Choosing a color is no longer just an aesthetic decision, but an act of responding to an internal question: “What kind of world am I trying to create?” Each color carries its own unique sensory energy and wavelength, and so she consciously selects the one that best resonates with the world she seeks to express.


How has your artistic style evolved over time?

The moment she decided to become an artist, and purchased her first set of proper canvases and paints, Then, as if something had burst open, she poured out all the emotions and thoughts that had long been stored deep within her. The forms were varied, and the colors were lively and vibrant. Yet in retrospect, those early works carried a subtle tension a certain stiffness. Her heart was already yearning for freedom, but her expression had not yet fully reached it. It was the trace of a transitional phase the threshold on her path to becoming an artist. As she moved through that period, she began to choose increasingly simpler colors and allowed her forms to become looser, more fluid. It was a conscious effort to strip away complexity and move closer to the essence of things. Over time, her methods of expression also evolved not confined to a single style, but expanding into a flexible synthesis that sought the most natural and honest visual language for each piece. From a philosophical perspective, she now works under the premise that absolute reality cannot be known. The world always exists within relative perspectives, and perception is constantly shifting. Her art reflects this view embracing the fluidity of meaning and the ever-changing nature of how we understand the world. First, based on the premise that all beings are interconnected and relative, she seeks to creatively combine diverse forms within a single canvas to reveal layered and multifaceted meanings. Second, she sometimes divides the same situation into multiple paintings. This is meant to demonstrate how a single scene can be interpreted entirely differently depending on the viewer’s value and perspective. Third, she focuses on the human imperfections of memory and our instinctive tendency toward optimism. 

In order to survive, people often retain selectively positive memories and she expresses these lingering impressions through simplified forms and subtle traces. All of these processes are, ultimately, attempts to translate life and sensory experience into the language of art: a journey of self-exploration. Her work does not remain in a fixed or finished state but is in constant flux, and she seeks to embrace that ongoing transformation just as it is. For her, art is not a destination, but a continuous process of renewal: a way of questioning and rediscovering herself again and again.


What challenges have you faced as an artist, and how have you overcome them?

The greatest challenge she faced was the emergence of artificial intelligence and the resulting shift in an era where the identity and value of creators were being fundamentally shaken. As AI began to mimic art with increasing sophistication and the public gradually accepted these products as more natural she felt a deep sense of crisis: Will I be able to continuously exist as an artist? Would it be possible to sustain a creative livelihood? Yet she could not abandon the life of an artist. In fact, this crisis became a turning point that led her to ask more essential questions: As a human artist, why do I create? What is it that I truly wish to express? After a long period of reflection, she established her own framework of thought and artistic vision that could stand in dialogue with the age of AI. The conclusion she reached was this: Art created by humans carries emotion and the warmth of life. Human emotions are far too deep and complex to be fully captured in words, and creativity often moves in directions that defy logic. Enlightenment, too, is a uniquely human inner journey. She seeks to express these emotions and realizations through painting using intuition, imagination, and the experience of all five senses. No matter how precisely AI can generate images, they are ultimately the result of data combinations and algorithmic calculations. In contrast, human art is the trace left by a being who has lived a life one who has passed through fear and limitation, hope and pain. She seeks to give meaning to those imperfect, yet deeply honest marks. This direction is not merely a survival strategy for her. It is a philosophical stance to protect the uniquely creative realm that only humans can inhabit and it has become an artistic purpose that continuously fuels her life with meaning and motivation. If her art can touch even one person’s heart, then she believes she has already survived as an artist.

What advice would you give to emerging artists trying to establish themselves?

If there is one thing she hopes to pass on to emerging artists, it is, learn how to protect your inner world. It is a message she also continues to give herself. Art is not merely a matter of skill, but of how honestly one can confront and express their own thoughts and reflections. To break away from convention is not simply to reject existing forms, but to have the courage to face the unfamiliar and honest world within oneself. Your art must begin from your own reasons and purpose. Even if it evolves over time, it should always move toward a truth that is uniquely your own. That is the very force that sustains creative work and the most fundamental foundation for existing as an artist.

Text & photo courtesy of Lara Kim

Website: https://larakim.art
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larakim_official/