In Flytrap Anthology, South Korean artist Kwang Hyun Kim invites viewers into a world where beauty and danger coexist, where power lures, seduces, and consumes, and where the act of looking becomes an entanglement. Known for blending traditional Asian aesthetics with contemporary surrealism, Kim constructs a narrative universe populated by imperfect mythological beings, symbolic creatures, and two recurring protagonists named Pipzin and Gatak.
Kim’s practice is rooted in an unusual trajectory. Born in Busan to an artistic family and trained in traditional Korean painting, he later worked extensively in the restoration of ancient Japanese Buddhist artifacts. This path gave him an intimate understanding of Eastern iconography, spiritual symbolism, and the beauty of imperfection. His paintings today merge this heritage with the psychological tensions of contemporary life.
If his previous exhibition titled “OHEA,” derived from the Korean word for misunderstanding, examined the fractures in communication, Flytrap Anthology moves the inquiry into a deeper territory. Here the focus turns to the seduction of power, the traps we set for ourselves, and the myths we create to justify our actions. The idea of the flytrap becomes the central metaphor. Like the carnivorous plant that attracts through sweetness and devours through instinct, the flytrap mirrors the contradictory forces at work in modern social life. Desire often appears as opportunity, ambition often hides within vulnerability, and charm frequently disguises danger. This duality echoes throughout Kim’s cast of hybrid beings, from one eyed phoenixes to blind turtles to uneven dragons, creatures whose flaws expose the instability of the systems they inhabit.
At the center of the exhibition stand Pipzin and Gatak, characters Kim has developed over many years as both narrative devices and psychological reflections. Pipzin, an androgynous seeker, moves guided by ideals, intuition, and a search for truth. Gatak embodies the restless pursuit of power, status, and recognition. In Flytrap Anthology, the two figures appear drawn toward one another, their motivations increasingly overlapping as their vulnerabilities come to the surface. The flytrap becomes both barrier and guide, revealing what each character desires and fears. Through these unfolding stories, Kim challenges the traditional one directional relationship between artwork and viewer. The paintings do not deliver explanation. Instead, they offer clues, fragments, distortions, and an anthology of visual lures. Meaning must be navigated rather than absorbed, encouraging viewers to recognize their own desires, projections, traps, and misunderstandings.
Flytrap Anthology expands Kwang Hyun Kim’s ongoing exploration of identity, mythmaking, and the fragile architectures of power. It presents a world where nothing is entirely whole yet everything feels vividly alive. Imperfection becomes a source of possibility, and the surreal becomes a language through which we recognize our own entanglements.
Exhibition Dates:
December 17 - January 13, 2026
For inquiries and to register interest on the Preview List please email info@volerygallery.com