“The potential to examine something endlessly—something that you can never fully know, excites me. I love the encounters that happen when we participate in the world with wonder and curiosity. It feels intrinsic to being alive, and for me, painting is the ultimate avenue for that.” Na Kim
Nicola Vassell is pleased to announce its representation of artist Na Kim, whose series of paintings offer a nuanced exploration of perception, memory and belief. This announcement follows Kim’s debut exhibition with the gallery in January of this year, titled Memory Palace.
The concept of Memory Palace—or the Method of Loci, a technique of mentally reconstructing space—mirrors Kim’s approach to painting. Rooted in repetition, her process challenges both herself and her viewer to continually rethink her chosen subjects. Her paintings reveal how much information is needed to recognize and understand any given subject: by whittling away what is extraneous, she attempts to capture only what is foundational.
In selecting a subject, Kim establishes a framework that she quickly transcends. A face, a landscape—these familiar forms are stripped of their narrative context. Her starting point can be either representational or indefinite, leaving space for unpredictability and ongoing inquiry rather than definitive resolution.
Navigating between abstraction and figuration, her work is characterized by luminous, soft-edged forms and rich, atmospheric hues. Kim’s portraits often feature figures with fluid, ambiguous features—faces and bodies that are both familiar and otherworldly. Painted in subtle tones of peach, orange, blue and green, the subjects emerge from ethereal backgrounds that dissolve into light. The brushstrokes are expressive, at times bold and sweeping, at others delicate and controlled, creating a sense of constant transformation. By compressing the picture plane, she merges her figures with their surroundings and in doing so, examines how subject and setting intermingle and inform one another.
The emotional depth of each of Kim’s paintings is conveyed through a gradual, accumulating tension that unfolds over time, inviting viewers into a reflective exploration of the subject’s inner world. With each successive canvas, she seeks to capture a mood, an idea and, ultimately, the very essence of her subject.
About Na Kim
Na Kim (b.1986 Seoul, South Korea) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Known for her mimetic portraits set against polychromatic backgrounds, Na Kim’s paintings depict figures but are conceptually abstract. Her imagined subjects, derivative yet unique, evoke both confrontational and intimate encounters. Kim’s practice centers neither accuracy nor narrative, but rather reflects a deeply meditative character study.
Solo exhibitions include Memory Palace, Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York (2025) and Kim’s debut solo presentation at White Columns, New York (2023). Group exhibitions include The Selves, Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York (2024) and the White Columns Benefit Auction, New York (2023, 2024). Kim has shown work at a number of art fairs, including Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami (2024) and Independent Art Fair, New York (2024). In addition to her fine art practice, Kim currently works as the art director of The Paris Review and creative director of the publishing house Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her designs have been named among The New York Times’ best book covers of the year for the past nine consecutive years.
