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About

Yunhee Min explores the possibilities of abstraction in her paintings and large-scale site-specific projects. Her work is informed by the complex legacies of abstraction, including early twentieth-century European modernism to the postwar practices of post-painterly abstraction. Compelled by non-representational impulse and the physical process of making, she approaches abstraction as an operation for making new environments that resonate with immersive color and light. Playing with luminescence, color, and techniques of application, Min creates spaces and moods in her paintings and installations that are indeterminate and ephemeral as colors and shapes oscillate between material status and atmospheric fields of light.

Yunhee Min was born in Korea in 1964 and lives and works in Los Angeles. Min holds a BFA from Art Center College of Design and an MA from Harvard University. Site-specific installations and architectural interventions have been on view at the UCLA Hammer Museum, at the LA County Museum of Art, and at the Night Gallery, Los Angeles. Min has had solo exhibitions at LAXART, Los Angeles, CA; The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA, project space; at ArtPace, San Antonio, TX, project space; the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA; and Exercise, Vancouver, BC. Min’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; Silvershed, New York, NY; Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, CA; the Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC; the CCAC Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA; the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle WA; and Artists Space, New York, NY. Her work is in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the UCLA Hammer Museum, Santa Monica, CA. She is Associate Professor of Art at UC Riverside.

Selected Works

Yunhee Min “Vitreous Opacities (Double Floor #4),” 2021
Yunhee Min
“Vitreous Opacities (Double Floor #4),” 2021
Yunhee Min “Vitreous Opacities (Single Wall #2),” 2021
Yunhee Min
“Vitreous Opacities (Single Wall #2),” 2021
Yunhee Min “Up Close in Distance (variation study c2),” 2018
Yunhee Min
“Up Close in Distance (variation study c2),” 2018
Yunhee Min “Up Close in Distance Study (variation study a3),” 2018
Yunhee Min
“Up Close in Distance Study (variation study a3),” 2018
Yunhee Min “Untitled (in the same room),” 2019
Yunhee Min
“Untitled (in the same room),” 2019
Yunhee Min “Untitled,” 2019
Yunhee Min
“Untitled,” 2019
Yunhee Min “Untitled,” 2019
Yunhee Min
“Untitled,” 2019
Yunhee Min Wilde Painting 5, 2018
Yunhee Min
Wilde Painting 5, 2018
Yunhee Min “Movements (impulse 3),” 2017
Yunhee Min
“Movements (impulse 3),” 2017
Yunhee Min, Movements (serpentine 3), 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 40.50" H x 90.50" W, Photo cred: Robert Wedemeyer
Yunhee Min
Movements (serpentine 3), 2015
Yunhee Min, Movements (eccentric 2), 2015, Acrylic on linen, 84" H x 62" W, Photo cred: Robert Wedemeyer
Yunhee Min
Movements (eccentric 2), 2015
Yunhee Min, Movements (turns and rounds1), 2015, Acrylic on linen, 72" H x 60" W, Photo cred: Robert Wedemeyer
Yunhee Min
Movements (turns and rounds1), 2015
Yunhee Min, Into the Sun #8, 2013, Acrylic on Canvas, 72" H x 84" W, Photo Credit: Robert Wedemeyer
Yunhee Min
Into the Sun #8, 2013
Yunhee Min, Into the Sun #9, 2013, Acrylic on Canvas, 72" H x 84" W, Photo Credit: Robert Wedemeyer
Yunhee Min
Into the Sun #9, 2013
Yunhee Min, Attraction #17, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, 74" X 120" unframed, 77 3/4" x 124" framed
Yunhee Min
Attraction #17, 2010
Yunhee Min, Attraction #20, 2010, Acrylic on canvas, 74" x 120" unframed, 77 3/4" x 124" framed
Yunhee Min
Attraction #20, 2010

Exhibitions

Born in Seoul, Korea
Lives and works in Los Angeles, California
2007
MA, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Design Studies
1993
Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf, Germany
1991
BFA, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA

Selected Solo and Two Person Exhibitions

2023
"Yunhee Min," Miles McEnery, New York, NY
2021
"Vitreous Opacities," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2020
"Up Close in Distance," Gallery Platform LA, online
2019
"Hammer Projects: Yunhee Min," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2018
"Yunhee Min & Peter Tolkin: Red Carpet in C," University of California, Riverside, Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts, Riverside, CA
"Wilde Paintings," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
2016
Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York, NY
2015
Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
Luminaire Delirium (Equitable Life or soft machine), Equitable Vitrines, Los Angeles, CA
2013
"Into the Sun," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects
Site-specific installation, Inaugural exhibition, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2012
Installation at the UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2010
Attraction, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
2008
Yunhee Min: Continuum: Structure #003, LAXART, Los Angeles, CA
James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
2007
The City of the Future: A Design and Engineering Challenge, Los Angeles Competition, Harvard
Graduate School of Design Team participation, Sponsored by History Channel
2006
Yunhee Min: Above and Beyond (x, y, z), Pasadena Museum of Contemporary Art, CA
2005
"Distance is Like the Future, Circa Series: Yunhee Min", Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA
another country", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
iT House, OutFiT Design for TaalmanKoch Architecture
2004
"Fading Wild", Finesilver Gallery, San Antonio, Texas
Double Positive", ArtPace, San Antonio, TX
2003
James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
"Corrugate", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2002
Luckman Gallery, California State University, Los Angeles, CA
2001
James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
2000
ACME, Los Angeles, CA
1999
Plug In, Winnipeg, Canada
Sala Diaz, San Antonio, TX
1998
Post, Los Angeles, CA
1997
LASCA, Los Angeles, CA
1996
ACME, Santa Monica, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024
"15 Years of Artist Curated Projects," Morán Morán, Los Angeles, CA
"Pacific Abstractions," Perrotin, Los Angeles, CA
2021
"20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2019
"The light touch," Vielmetter Los Angeles, CA
2018
“Evolver,” LA Louver, Los Angeles, CA
“Belief in Giants,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY (Link)
2016
“L.A. Exuberance: New Gifts by Artists,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
2015
"Elemental | Seeing the Light," Sturt Haaga Gallery, Descanso Gardens, Los Angeles, CA
Magic Mountain, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara Satellite, Santa Barbara, CA
"Speed Space," Tif Sigfrids, Los Angeles, CA, curated by Alexandra Gaty
2013
"Spectra," San Diego State University Downtown Gallery, San Diego, CA
2012
Lost Line: Contemporary Art From the Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
2011
Plain Brown Wrapper, curated by Molly Larkey, Human Resources, Los Angeles, CA
2010
WP9, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Claire Cowie: 12 Views || Yunhee Min: New Paintings, James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA
People Weekly, the Amie and Tony James Gallery at the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY
Digital With Monument, The Silver Shed, New York, NY
2007
Merit Badge 2, Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY (Curated by Jason Middlebrook)
The Trans-Aestheticization of Daily Life, Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, CA, Curated by Peter Zeller
2006
Too Much Love, Angles Gallery, Curated by Amy Adler
The Trans-Aestheticization of Daily Life, Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, CA
2005
Wall Painting, UTSA Art Gallery at the University of Texas at San Antonio, curated by Frances Colpitt
"Around About Abstraction:" Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC
20 scene 05, Korean American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2004
Difference and Repetition (Invisible Cities), Microsoft Corporation at Redmond, WA
"New", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Inaugural exhibition Culver City space, Culver City, CA
"Yunhee Min - Herbert Hamak", ArtSource, San Francisco, CA
2003
"Warped Space", CCAC Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, CA, Curated by Ralph Rugoff
"International Abstraction: Making Painting Real", Seattle Art Museum, Curated by Lisa Corrin, Seattle WA
"Abstruction", Artists Space, Curated by Eungie Joo, New York, NY
2001
Cal's Art, University of North Texas Art Gallery, Denton, TX
Rogue Wave, LA Louver Gallery, Venice, CA
Snap Shot, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Traveled to
Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, FL
Curious, Altoids Collection, The New Museum, New York, NY
2000
The Next Wave, California Center for the Arts, Escondido, Curated by Noriko Gamblin, Escondido, CA
KOREAMERICAKOREA, Sonje Museum of Contemporary Art, Curated by David Ross & Sun-Jung Kim, Seoul, Korea; Traveled to KyungJu, Korea
Deterritorialization of Process, Artists Space, Curated by Michael Joo, New York, NY
Shimmer, Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, Curated by Thomas Lawson, Los Angeles, CA
1999
Hubcap Diamond Star Halo, Claremont Graduate University, Peggy Phelps Gallery, Curated by Leonardo Bravo and Christopher Miles, Claremont, CA
Other Paintings, Huntington Beach Art Center, curated by Julie Joyce, Los Angeles, CA
Structural elements, Views of Architecture and Architectural Elements, Transamerica Pyramid Lobby, San Francisco, CA
Under 500/Intimate Abstract Painting, the Black Dragon Society, curated by James Hayward, Los Angeles, CA
After the Goldrush, Thread Waxing Space, curated by Joe Wallin & Lea Gongitano, New York, NY
1998
Wings of Desire, San Francisco Art Institute, Walter/McBean Gallery, Curated by Michelle Guy, San Francisco, CA
Windows on Wilshire, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Curated by Howard Fox Los Angeles, CA
1997
Yunhee Min / Lise Soskolne, Or Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
W139, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Agent Orange (Elevator Installation), POST, Los Angeles, CA
Ambient Suburbs, POST, Curated by Julie Joyce, Los Angeles, CA
1996
Human Condition, Caren Golden Fine Art, Curated by Bennett Roberts, New York, NY
The Full Moon Gallery, Foundation for Art Resources (FAR), Los Angeles, CA

Bibliography

2022
Min, Yunhee. "Abstraction," The Brooklyn Rail, July (Link)
2021
Zappas, Lindsay Preston. " Yunhee Min at Vielmetter Los Angeles," KCRW, July & August 2021 (Link)
2019
Walter, Alexander. "10 engaging architectural installations for your Friday inspiration," Archinet, May 3 (Link)
Leung, Phillip. "Hammer Museum installation delivers vibrant, sensory experience," Daily Bruin, April 25 (Link)
2018
Brien, Patrick. "Four years in the making, massive Riverside exhibit blends art, architecture," The Press-Entreprise, November 22 (Link)
Nash, David. "Kendall Wilkinson Outfits the $15.5 Million Penthouse at San Francisco's 181 Fremont," Architectural Digest, October 30 (Link)
Weber, Jessica, "Rolling Out the 'Red Carpet'," UCR News, October 1 (Link)
Stallings, Tyler, "Red Carpet in C at UCR ARTS Blurs Boundaries of Art and Architecture," KCET, September 4 (Link)
"UCR Arts Exhibition Blurs Boundaries of Art and Architecture," UCR Today (web), August 16 (Link)
“Yunhee Min’s ‘Wilde Paintings’ at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects,” Modern Painters, June
2016
Keefe, Alexander, “Yunhee Min: Equitable Vitrines,” Artforum, March
“Yunhee Min | Artist,” Curator (web), March 26
Price, Matthew, “Yunhee Min,” Vitamin P3: New Perspectives in Painting, Phaidon
2015
Vankin, Deborah, Descanso Gardens Elemental Exhibition Looks at Art in Different Light, Los Angeles Times, February 14
Goldman, Edward, Septemer LA, a Bursting Art Scene, KCRW (web & radio), September 8
Napoli, Lisa, Pass the Oak Trees and the Camellias and Youll Find Art, KCRW, January 14
2013
Enholm, Molly, "Supersaturated! Three Southern Californian Abstractionists" Art ltd, September-October
Shaw, Michael, Art Scene, July/August 2013
Wagley, Catherine, Yunhee Min: Into the Sun; Mary Reid Kelley, Patrick Kelley: Priapus Agonistes, LAWeekly, June 21
Lipschutz, Yael. Art Los Angeles Contemporary, January 24- 27, 2013, Flash Art Online, January 31
Cheh, Carol, Night Gallery Opens a New Space Downtown, Transitioning From Feisty Alternative Space to a Full-Fledged Art Experience, LA Weekly, January 24
2012
Tuck, Geoff, Yunhee Min At the Hammer Museum and at LACMA, Notes on Looking, December 20
2007
Knight, Christopher, 45 Painters Under 45, Los Angeles Times, December 2
Knight, Christopher, They Help Make the L.A. Scene, Los Angeles Times, December 2
Freeman, Tommy, The Trans-Aestheticization of Daily Life at the Sweeney Art Gallery, Artweek, May
2006
Yunhee Min: Above and Beyond (x,y,z), The Los Angeles Times, June 10
2005
Jaunkauskas, Jennifer. Glass Tire, October
Firstenberg, Laurie, Another Country, Art Papers, September/October Issue
Frank, Peter, Picks of the Week Ellen Phelan, Yunhee Min, Nadine Robinson, LA Weekly, June 16
Pagel, David, A method to crookedness, LA Times, June 3
2004
Oliver, Retha. ARTL!ES, #45, Winter, pg 102
Kekonen, Allen. VOA, Volume 13, Issue 1
2003
Gaines, Malik, "Yunhee Min - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts", ARTUS, November/December issue, pg 11
Van Proyen, Mark, "Yunhee Min at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts", Artweek, October issue, Volume 34, Issue 8
Farr, Sheila, "Mesmerizing art aims to put viewer off balance", Seattle Times, Sept. 26
Baker, Kenneth, "Welcome to Yerba Buena's bargain basement of summer shows", San Francisco Chronicle, July 31
Rugoff, Ralph, "Warped Space", exhibition catalog essay, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
de Guzman, Rene, "A piece in four parts", exhibition catalog essay, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Kim, Christine Y., "Color Blind", V Magazine, March / April issue
Laird, Tessa, "Critic's Picks", ART ON PAPER, March issue
Worman, Alex, "L.A. Confidential", ArtNet, February
2002
LaBelle, Brandon. Contemporary, March
Ollman, Leah. 'The Art of Disorientation,' LA Times, February 9, F2
2001
Knight, Christopher. 'A Snapshot of L.A. Artists,' LA Times, June 6, F1
Cotter, Holland. 'Fresh,' NY Times, January 19, B40
2000
Knight, Christopher. 'Catching the 'Next Wave' of Painters,' LA Times, June 20, F1
Knight, Christopher. 'Unsteady Glow, 'LA Times, March 17, F25
Mahoney, Robert. 'Deterritorialization of Process,' Time Out, New York, Issue 233, March 9-16
Frank, Peter. LA Weekly, March 10-16
Cotter, Holland. 'Deterritorialization of Process,' NY Times, March 17, B35
Ollman, Leah. 'Happily Enduring Vertigo Amid Min's Mix of Colors,' LA Times, March 3,
Wilson Lloyd, Ann. Art in America, January
1999
Watson, Laurie. 'put a spell on me too,' Tart, issue 7
Johnson, Ken. 'After the Gold Rush,' NY Times, June 18, B31
Knight, Christopher. 'Publicly funded artists rise to the challenge,' LA Times, June 4, F16
Morgan, Susan. 'The Spirit of Place: Art in Los Angeles,' COLA Catalogue Essay, Pg 10
1998
Scott, Kitty. 'Vertical Economy,' Canadian Art, Spring, Pg 112
Webster, Mary Hull. Artweek, April, Pg 19
Baker, Kenneth. ' L.A. Imports at Art Institute,' San Francisco Chronicle, February 19, E1
Helfand, Glen. 'Wings of Desire,' Guardian, February
1997
Spaid, Sue. 'Foreign Policy,' LA Weekly, December 12-18, Pg 65
Young, Paul. 'On the Edge,' LA Magazine, November, Pg 92
1996
Kandel, Susan. 'No Way Out,' LA Times, March 21, F10

Teaching Experience

2013 - Present
University of California Riverside, Associate Professor, Riverside, CA
2009-2013
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Assistant Professor, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2006-2008
Vermont College of Fine Arts, Visiting Artist, Montpelier, VT
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Lecturer, Boston, MA
Visual and Environmental Studies, Teaching Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2005
University of California, Lecturer, San Diego, San Diego, CA
2004
University of Texas San Antonio, Visiting Artist, San Antonio, TX
2003
Otis College of Art and Design, Lecturer, Los Angeles, CA
Art Center College of Design, Lecturer, Pasadena, CA
2002
Art Center College of Design, Lecturer, Pasadena, CA
University of California, Irvine, Lecturer, Irvine, CA
2001
Otis College of Art and Design, Lecturer, Los Angeles, CA
2000
Otis College of Art and Design, Lecturer, Los Angeles, CA
1998
California Institute of the Arts, Visiting Artist, Valencia, CA
Otis College of Art and Design, Lecturer, Los Angeles, CA
1996
University of California, Los Angeles, Lecturer, Los Angeles, CA

Awards, Grants and Fellowships

2024
The Berlin Fellowship, Berlin, Germany (Link)
2022
Guggenheim Fellowship, Fine Art
2016
Creative Capacity Fund (CCF) Quick Grant Program, Los Angeles, CA
2015
UCIRA Grant (University of California Institute for Research in the Arts for a Major Grant), Riverside, CA
2013
Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, NY
2010
Aurobora Press, San Francisco, CA
2009
Artist in Residence, Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju-Do, South Korea
2008
Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Derek Bok Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2006
Alptert Ucross Residency Prize
2003
Wattis Artist in Residence, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
1999
COLA, (City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Individual Artist Grant)
1996
KAFA, Korean America Foundation for the Arts Individual Artist Grant

Public Collections

2023
Orange County Museum of Art, Orange County, CA
Hammer Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, CA
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington