MyungJin Kim

Los Angeles-based (San Pedro) ceramic artist born in South Korea, where she earned an MFA in ceramic art from Seoul National University in 2002. Kim sculpts narrative, low-relief vessels and lighting rooted in Korean craft traditions, working in porcelain and terracotta. She is represented in New York by The Future Perfect gallery. Her hand-built forms draw on Korean Minhwa folk painting, particularly bird-and-flower Whajodo compositions, finished with hand-painted white slip and terra sigillata, a surface technique she traces to pre-Columbian ceramics. Recurring subjects include mated bird pairs and owls. Her 2024 exhibition Hoot & Bloom, with AGO Projects at The Future Perfect's San Francisco space, included 20 new sculptures, vessels, and pendant lights. Her work is held in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and the Pizzuti Collection at the Columbus Museum of Art.