Choong Sup Lim: 사 잇 In Between
*Photography: Daihan Jeong
On view: February 19 - April 12, 2025
Tuesday - Friday: 10 AM - 6 PM / Saturday: 11 AM - 5 PM
Opening Reception: February 19 (6 -8 PM)
It is closed on Sunday and Monday.
Venue: Atrium & Gallery at the KCCNY
122 East 32nd Street, New York, NY, 10016
*Photography: Daihan Jeong
Exploring the Boundary of Nature and Civilization
The Korean Cultural Center New York is proud to present <사 잇 In Between>, an exhibition celebrating the profound artistic legacy of Choong Sup Lim (b. 1941). Lim’s work transcends the boundaries of nature and civilization, tradition and modernity, Korea and New York, illuminating the transformative potential of the liminal spaces where these realms converge.
He is an artist who resists categorization, instead embracing the creative tension found in the margins. By integrating natural materials such as Hanji, wood, and stone with contemporary forms, Lim bridges dichotomies—past and present, East and West—crafting a visual language that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant.
In 1973, Lim relocated to New York, a move that marked a pivotal moment in his career. Over the decades, he has established himself as a leading presence among Korean artists in the city, shaping a distinctive practice that harmonizes Korean aesthetics with global influences. New York’s fast-paced urban environment became the catalyst for his exploration of balance and order inspired by nature, resulting in a body of work that reflects both introspection and bold innovation.
Art as a Dialogue Between Memory and Material
Born in Jincheon, a rural town in central South Korea, Lim’s early life in this agrarian landscape left an indelible mark on his artistic vision. His practice explores the interplay between his childhood memories and the urban dynamism of New York, revealing an ongoing dialogue between nostalgia and modernity.
Central to Lim’s work is the use of found objects, which serve as vessels of memory and time. His early explorations included minimalist drawings on Hanji and experimental spatial installations. In later decades, Lim incorporated found objects more actively, reimagining their histories and meanings as part of his visual narrative. His recent installations, marked by intricate craftsmanship, merge Korean sensibilities with contemporary relevance, offering a profound meditation on cultural duality and artistic reinvention.
Featured Artworks
Korean Cotton Thread (무명실)
”This installation rises from ancient Korean textiles, traditionally crafted from looms.
Korean cotton thread has its beginnings from 500 years ago.
Korean thread intrinsically originates from nature.
On the contrary, today, we live in a world of synthetic threads and textiles.
This installation weaves natural Korean thread with the industrialized lineage of American contemporary art to create a natural geometric method in a contemporary visual language.
This installation is in between industrialized American Cubism and natural Korean cotton thread and textile.”
Choong Sup Lim
New York City
January 22, 2025
*Photography: Daihan Jeong
Hangeul (2020)
Untitled –ㅎ 'Hee-ut' (2017)
Untitled – 채식주의자 'Vegetarian' (1995/2020)
Untitled – 손 'Hands' (1980-1990)
Untitled – 걸음마 'Guruma' (2020)
Untitled – ㅎ 'Hee-ut' (2022)
*Photography: Susie Lim
About the Artist
*Photograph: Hyo Jin An
Choong Sup Lim is a distinguished Korean artist celebrated for his multidisciplinary approach, which spans painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and video art. A graduate of Seoul National University's College of Fine Arts in 1964, Lim relocated to New York in 1973. Since then, he has developed a unique artistic language that bridges Korean traditions with contemporary practices, reflecting both his rural upbringing in Jincheon and his urban experiences in New York.
Lim’s contributions to contemporary art have earned him international recognition. His works have been exhibited at prestigious institutions, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
Lim’s academic achievements include the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and an MFA from New York University. He has also been honored with grants from the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation’s Space Program and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Continuing to work from his New York studio, Lim embodies the spirit of an artist who navigates the thresholds of time, space, and identity. Through his visionary practice, he redefines the boundaries of contemporary art, inviting audiences to reflect on the spaces where worlds intersect.
Selected Chronology
1941 Born in Jincheon, Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong Province), Korea. He is the third child and second son of rice farmer and dealer, Sang Hyun Lim, and mother, Haeyoung Kwak.
1950 At the age of 9, while in the 2nd grade of elementary school in Jincheon, his mother dies suddenly with a high fever after being treated with ginseng. The loss of his mother leaves an indelible mark throughout his life. He retreats into a world of drawing, and would draw constantly on any kind of material that he found; drawing during class time would affect his studies. A few of his teachers recognize his drawing talent, while others discouraged him. The outbreak of the Korean War follows shortly after his mother’s passing.
1950—1953 The Korean War ends combat by the time he is 11 years old.
1954—1956 He attends middle school in Jincheon. While accompanying his father on business trips to Seoul, he is introduced to a newly established private arts school called the Seoul Fine Arts High School, and is encouraged to take the entrance exam by a colleague and friend of his father who knew of his drawing talent.
1957—1959 He gains acceptance into Seoul Fine Arts High School. There, his teachers were Suh Se-ok, Chang Ucchin, Chung Chang-sup, and Moon HakJin, all of whom rise to prominence as masters of modern Korean painting. These teachers also go on to become his professors at Seoul National University.
1960—1964 Accepted into Seoul National University, College of Fine Arts, with the distinguished realist painter Jang Bal as the first dean and department chair. His painting professors were Suh Se-ok, Chang Ucchin, and Chung Chang-sup. He learns how to use clay in freshman year with sculpture professor Kim Se Joong, the renowned sculptor, known for his statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin at Gwanghwamun. He majors in Western Painting, amongst the departments of Sculpture; Western Painting/Oriental Painting; Applied Arts. Picasso’s Cubist paintings were of particular importance for him. He enlists in the military service as a Marine, and returns to college after 1 year and 6 months, graduating from Seoul National University in 1964.
1965—1972 Marriage to Yong Yuen Kim, who graduated Seoul National University majoring in German Literature. She works as a journalist at SPACE Magazine and teaches German at Sookmyung High School while raising their first daughter, Sabina Lim. Over a period of 6 years, he teaches fine art in two high schools, and participates in several group shows in Seoul, notably Engagement, with former professor Chang Ucchin, who was the leader of the artist group.
1973 Awarded Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship to study at The Brooklyn Museum Art School, New York, and emigrates alone to New York.
1977—1980 His wife and first daughter move to the U.S. in 1977. His second daughter, Susie Lim, and his son, Kevin Lim, are born.
1980—1992 He has his first solo exhibition at the O.K. Harris Gallery in NY in 1980. Over the next 12 years, he has multiple solo and group exhibitions in the U.S. and internationally.
1993—present He receives a Masters of Fine Arts, New York University, New York. He continues to have exhibitions across the U.S. and internationally. He continues to live and work in TriBeCa to this day.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1980 O.K. Harris Gallery, New York
1981 United States International Communications Agency, American Embassy Exhibition Hall, Seoul, Korea
1986 Choong Sup Lim, Won Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1989 Hylozoism – Painting and Wood Assemblage, Sandra Gering Gallery, New York
1992 Reversed Tent, Sandra Gering Gallery, New York
1993 Other Visions: Jin Soo Kim/Choong Sup Lim, Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase, New York Well – Ant Hill, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, California
1994 Chu-ma, Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, Queens, New York
1995 Lim Choong Sup, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1997 Fossilscape, Sandra Gering Gallery, New York
1999 Mending with Thread and Soil, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2000 Lim Choong Sup: Light Hunting, The Samsung Museum of Modern Art and Rodin Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2005 Habitual Habitat, Sabina Lee Gallery, Los Angeles
2006 Vanishing – Scape – Fan, Asian American Art Centre, New York Habitual Habitat, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2008 Choong Sup Lim, Object – Perception – Landscape, Atelier 705, Seoul, Korea
2009 Choong Sup Lim, Madang 残忆之园 – traces, Chang Art, Beijing, China
2010 Choong Sup Lim, Luna, Hakgojae Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2011 Choong Sup Lim – Pond II < Spider, Dichotomy, and Thread >, Shinsegae Gallery Centum City, Busan, Korea
2012 Choong Sup Lim: Luna and Her Thousand Reflections, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Gwacheon, Korea
2014 Choong Sup Lim: Between, Wumin Art Center, Cheongju, Korea
2015 Void, The Korea Society Gallery, New York
2017 Choong Sup Lim – Monochromatic Thinking, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, Korea
2021 Drawing, In Between, Gallery Hyundai Dugahun, Seoul, Korea
2022 Richard Tuttle & Choong Sup Lim: How Objects Grasp Their Magic, Pace Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Choong Sup Lim: Stroke, Shin Gallery, New York
2023 Choong Sup Lim: Stroke, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul, Korea
2025 Choong Sup Lim: 사 잇 , Korean Cultural Center, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
1967 Korean Fine Arts Association Member Exhibition, Seoul, Korea
1968 Engagement, Shinsegae Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1971 The Korea News Grand Prize Exhibition, Seoul, Korea
1974 The Brooklyn Museum Art School Students Show, Brooklyn Museum, New York
1978 Organization of Independent Artists Group Show, Bologna, Italy; P.S.1, Queens, New York
1980 Annual Juried Exhibition ’80, Queens Museum, Queens, New York
Whanki et Jeunes, Whanki Foundation, Paris, France
1981 International Art Exhibition, Equitable Gallery, New York
Korean Drawing Now, Brooklyn Museum, New York; Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC
1982 The Works of Korean Artists Abroad, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul, Korea
The First Annual Invitational: Current Korean-American Sensibilities, Korean Cultural Service, New York
1983 Annual Juried Exhibition ’83, Queens Museum, Queens, New York
The Exchange Exhibition of Korean & Japanese Contemporary Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo; National Museum of Art, Osaka; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka; Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Tochigi, Japan
Power Gallery of Contemporary Art Acquisition, Power Insitute of Fine Arts, University of Sydney, Australia
1985 Not Just Black and White, City Gallerty, New York
1986 Korea / New York ’86, Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Sparkill, New York
1987 WHANKI Foundation 1987, Foundation Whanki des Arts Plastiques, National Center, Paris, France
1988 International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibtion, University of Hawaii Art Gallery, Honolulu, Hawaii
1991 Arte Contemporanea de Corea, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, Mexico
Korean Contemporary Art, Sonje Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeongju, Korea
Selections from the Slide File, Organization of Independent Artists, New York
Nel Piu’ Ampio Cerchio, Centro Museografico, Taverna, Italy Ho-am Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
Inauguration of the Space Program, Marie Walshe Sharpe Art Foundation, New York
The Bare Bones, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, Brooklyn, New York
1992 Nella natura l’origine dell’arte, Museo Civico di Taverna, Italy
A World Together: Korean Art from Seoul, Paris, New York, Museum of the City of New York, New York
1993 Semblances: An Exhibition of Sculpture and Installation, ISE Cultural Foundation Gallery, New York
1994 Multiple Parts, Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, Santa Monica, California
1995 Contemporary Art of Korea ’95, Gallery Cornelius-Hertz, Bremen, Germany; Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York; Museo Civico, Taverna, Italy
1996 Passion & Compassion: Five Artists’ Reflections on Buddhism, Asian American Arts Center, New York
1997 The 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, Africus Institute for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg, South Africa (Yu Yeon Kim & Okwui Enwezor)
The 2nd Gwangju Biennale, Jungoe Park, Gwangju, Korea (curated by: Harald Szeemann)
The Hirshhorn Collects: Recent Acquisitions 1992-1996, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC
In the Eye of the Tiger, Exit Art, New York; Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Queens Artists: Highlights of the 20th Century, Queens Museum, New York
1998 Insight – The Space of Projection, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1999 Seoul in Media ’99, Lumia of Century, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
2000 A Passage for a New Millennium: Korean Artists of Overseas Exhibitions 1990-99, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Gwacheon, Korea
Gurim Village Project I, The 1st Earth Festival, Yeongam, Korea
2002 Artists to Artists: A Decade of the Space Program, Ace Gallery, Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation, New York
2003 Below the Canal: After 9/11, Asian American Arts Center, New York
Dreams and Reality: Korean American Contemporary Art Exhibit to Celebrate 100 Years of Korean Immigration to America, Smithsonian International Gallery, Washington DC
Marking: Drawings by Contemporary Artists from Korea, Art Project International; Korea Society, New York
At the Crossroads: Celebrating the Centennial of Korean Immigration, Korean Cultural Center, New York
2005 Beyond Acculturation: Stimulus, Response and Mutual Benefit, Tenri Cultural Institute, New York
New York Eviction Blues, Asian American Arts Center, New York
2006 The Mountain, Art Projects International, New York
Mayumi Terada / Choong Sup Lim, Asian American Arts Center, New York
2008 Shoes or No Shoes? (SONS) Museum, Kruisem, Belgium
The Points of the Compass, Fundacion Ludwig de Cuba, Havana, Cuba; Sala de Arts Publico Siqueiros, Mexico City, Mexico
2011 Scope Basel, Dubner Moderne Galerie D’Art, Basel, Switzerland
Art Paris 2011, Dubner Moderne Galerie D’Art, Paris, France
Tell Me Tell Me: Australian and Korean Art 1976-2011, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Gwacheon, Korea; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
2016 Luminescence, Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery, New York
Story Blossoms in Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan, Korea
Marking 2, Art Projects International, New York
2017 Contemplative Space – Artist Note, Whanki Museum, Seoul, Korea
2022 Busan Biennale 2022: We, On the Rising Wave, Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, Korea
Selected Awards & Grants
1973 Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship
1975 Louis Bouché Memorial Scholarship
1991-92 The Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Space Program Grant
1994 New York State Council on the Arts Grant
1998 Woo-Kyung Foundation Art Award
2007 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
2010 Kim Se Joong Sculpture Award
Selected Collections
Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Whanki Museum and Foundation, Seoul (Whanki Foundation, New York / Paris)
Ilshin Foundation, Seoul, Korea
Ho-Am Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
Sonje Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeongju, Korea
Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Gallery Won, Seoul, Korea
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
Power Institute of Fine Arts, University of Sydney, Australia
Henie Onstad Museum, Oslo, Norway
Shoes or No Shoes?, Kruisem, Belgium
Space World Gallery, New York, Sandra Gering Gallery, New York
Centro Museografico, Taverna, Itay
Prudential Insurance Co., New York
Teaching Experience
1997 Visiting Professor, Studio Art, Fine Art Department, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, Korea
1999—2000 Visiting Professor, Studio Art, Fine Art Department, The Korea National University of Arts, Seoul, Korea