Na Hyun Korean, 1970

Na Hyun is an artist whose work explores the intersections of human history, natural time, personal memory, and collective narratives. Rather than presenting history as a fixed chronology, his practice reinterprets it by weaving together overlooked events, marginalised figures, and traces that remain outside official records. Through installations, research, archives, and video, he connects different times and places to reconsider the relationship between history, myth, and nature. His works unfold as open-ended investigations, inviting viewers to reflect on the ways histories are constructed and to encounter the world from new perspectives.

나현은 인간의 역사와 자연의 시간, 개인의 기억과 집단적 서사가 교차하는 지점을 탐구하며 역사와 현실을 새롭게 해석하는 작업을 이어온 작가이다. 그의 작업은 기록되지 않거나 주변부로 밀려난 존재들, 사라진 사건의 흔적, 자연의 시간성을 함께 엮으며 역사와 신화, 인간과 자연 사이의 관계를 다시 사유하도록 만든다. 설치, 리서치, 아카이브, 영상 등 다양한 매체를 통해 서로 다른 시간과 장소를 연결하는 그의 작업은 완결된 서사가 아니라 끊임없이 확장되는 탐색의 과정이며, 관객이 역사와 세계를 다른 시선으로 바라보도록 이끈다.

Born in 1970, Korea

Lives and works in Seoul, South Korea

Education

2005  MFA. Fine Art, Humanities Division, University of Oxford, UK

1997  MFA. Painting, Hong-ik University, Seoul, Korea

1994  BFA. Painting, Hong-ik University, Seoul, Korea

Solo Exhibitions & Projects

2025       

• Seonyudo: A Quite Coexistence, Seonyudo Park, Seoul, Korea

2024      

• Bongraesan-Formosa project / CR collective, Seoul, Korea

2022       

• NA HYUN Drawing / Gallery BK, Seoul, Korea

2021      

• Finding Bigfoot / Cultural Art Tank, Seoul, Korea

2018      

• The BABEL-Different Tongues / Daegu Art Museum, Daegu, Korea

2016         

• PRO-JECT / Choi &Lager Gallery, Koln, Germany

2015       

• Plants Collection / SeMA NanJi Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2014       

• PRO-JECT / LIG Art Space, Seoul, Korea

2014      

• NA HYUN Exhibition / E & C Gallery, Fukui, Japan

2014      

• The Babel Tower / Kustlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

2012       

• A Song of Lorelei / Art Space Jungmiso, Seoul, Korea

2011      

• Na Hyun report – about the Ethnic / Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea

2010      

• PILE / Atelier am Eck, Dusseldorf, Germany

2009       

• Kunst Doc Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2009       

• Missing project / Sangsang Madang Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2008       

• Painting on the Water / Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France

2007-2005  

• Painting Landscapes project / Farringdon Road, London, UK & Cheonggye-cheon, Seoul, Korea

2005-2003  

• White Cloud Minnow project / The Central Library, Dresden, Germany,
• St Edmund Hall Library, Oxford, UK, the Korean National Library, Seoul, Korea

2004       

• Strange Event / Dolphin Gallery, Oxford, UK

2001       

• Dissecting Knife / Gwanhoon Gallery, Seoul, Korea

1999      

• GREED / Hanwon Art Museum, Seoul, Korea

1998      

• Camera Obscura / Gallery ICON, Seoul, Korea

1998      

• Indexing Identity / ARKO Art Center, Seoul, Korea

Selected Group Exhibitions (After 2000’s)

2026 

• Where The Sea Connects Us, Taitung Art Museum, Taitung, Taiwan
• To the Freedom, We Dance, Wałbrzyska Galeria Sztuki BWA, Poland
• Into other Rivers, Archives, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea

• Journey to Distinction, Cheongju Museum of Art, Cheongju, Korea.

2024 

• Equity: Peaceful strain, Gwangju Biennale Gwangju Pavillion, Gwangju Museum of Art, Korea

• Art Lab for Earth, National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea

• A Sonnet for the earth / Seongnam Cube Art Museum, Gyeonggi do, Korea

2023 

• Art lab for earth / National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea

• Architecture becomes art / Cheongju Museum of Art, Korea

2022  

• Vibration in a polyhedral labyrinth / Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, Korea

• Time of the Earth / National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

2021 

• Spielraum x Phytology / Museum SAN, Wonju, Korea

• Collection-Opening Hacking Mining / Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea

• In Praise of Plants / EWHA Womans University Museum, Seoul, Korea

2020 

• Unflattening, / National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

• The Archivist / Art Bunker B39, Bucheon, Korea

2019  

• Artist Project / Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, Korea

• Seong: Fantastic City / Suwon Museum of Art, Suwon, Korea
• Wanderers: A Video Chronology / National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art-Digital Archive, Seoul, Korea
• Moving & Migration / Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan, Korea
• Tilted Scenes–What do you see / Navy officer’s club in Arsenale, Venice, Italy
• Wandering / Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

2018  

• Cracks II in the Concrete / National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea  
• How Many Steps / Seoul Art Space Geumcheon, Seoul
• Gyeonggi Archive_NOW / Gyounggi sangsang campus, Suwon, Korea
• Hangang Art Park-Public Art project / Hangang Park, Seoul, Korea
• Donated artworks of MMCA / National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
• Wandering Seeds / National Prehistory Museum of Taiwan, Taitung, Taiwan.
• The lost world, Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, SeMA, Seoul
• Blooming at the Junction, Korean Cultural Center, Hong Kong

2017 

• Botanic Garden, Shinsaegye Gallery, Incheon, Korea
• NAN JI 10 / Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea

2016 

• Mille-feuille de camellia / ARKO Art Center, Seoul, Korea
• Please return to Busan port / Vestfossen Kunst Laboratorium, Norway
• Korea & Taiwan Contemporary Art show / Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju, Korea 
• SKAM photograph collection / Sunggok Art Museum, Seoul 
• Research, re: Research / Wojungkuk, Seoul       

2015 

• Korean Artist Prize 2015 / National museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea
• Contemporary Art, Infiltrated into Museum / Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, Suwon, Korea
• Pyung Chang Biennale 2015 / Pyung Chang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Committee, Korea
• JEJU 4.3 Art Festival / Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju, Korea

2014 

• Unfinished Narrative / Korean Cultural Centre India, New Delhi, India  
• DREAM-Fukui Art Festival / Fukui Si, Japan
• Mediation Biennale 2014 / Poznan, Poland & Berlin, Germany
• Gang Jung Contemporary Art Festival / Dae-gu, Korea

2013 

• Transfer Korea-NRW / Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany & ARKO Art Center, Seoul, Korea
• Hermes Foundation Missulsang 2013 / Atelier Hermes, Seoul, Korea
• Garden of Confession / Exhibition halls of Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, Korea
• Lee Sang Duchamp / Museum of Modern Literature, Seoul, Korea
• Reportage / LIG Art space, Seoul, Korea

2012  

• Busan biennale special exhibition / Busan, Korea
• Ceramics Commune / Art Sonje Museum, Seoul, Korea
• Travel Art-Artists on the Road / Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan, Korea
• Chackgeori Screen Paintings / Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, Suwon, Korea
• Poly-Politic / Gallery Kunstdoc, Seoul, Korea

2011

•  Inner spacing the City / Chelsea Art Museum, New York, USA
• INTERVIEW / Arko Art Center, Seoul, Korea
• Emptiness / Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
• Art vision / Exhibition halls of Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, Korea

2010  

• Chasm in Images / Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
• Empty house / Song won Art Center, Seoul, Korea
• Dual Interview / Art Space Hue, Seoul/ I Myu Project, London, UK
• The present from the past / Korean cultural Centre, London, UK
• Residence parade / Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, Korea
• Oh Masterpieces! / Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan, Korea

2009  

• Bad boys-Now & Here / Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Ansan, Korea
• UP & COMERS / Total museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
• HOUSE WINE / Sakamaki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
• Korean Curry on Roti / Community space LITMUS, Ansan, Korea
• Media Season in Heyri / Gallery SOSO, Paju, Korea

2008 

• Young Korean Artists 2008 / National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea
• 4482 / OXO Tower Barge house, London, UK

2007  

• Where Euclid walked / Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
• ENSEMBLE (S) II / Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France

2006  

• An event in London / The Plum tree, London, UK

2004  

• Atomic Art Bomb / Modern Art Oxford, UK
• In fact~ / Ruskin school of art, Oxford.UK
• SEH Art Weeks / St Edmund Hall, Oxford.UK

*Omitting Group Exhibitions before 2000

Residencies

2018 - 2017  Geum Cheon Art Factory, Seoul Foundation of Culture, Seoul

2018        TTICC, Taitung, Taiwan

2014 - 2013  Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

2012        Transfer Korea-NRW, Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany

2011        Sociedad Cultural Jose Marti, Habana, Cuba

2010        Gastatelier, Dusseldorf, Germany

2010 - 2009  Chang-dong Art Studio, National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea

2009 - 2008  Nan-ji Art Studio, Seoul Museum of Art, Korea

2008 - 2007  Cite Internationale des Arts, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Paris, France

Awards

2025  Seoul Arts Award, Seoul Foundation of Arts & Culture, Seoul, Korea

2020  HA Chong Hyun Art Prize, Ha Chong Hyun Art Foundation, Korea

2016  Today’s Young Artist Award, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Republic of Korea

2015  Korea Artist Prize-Finalist, National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Korea

2013  Hermes Misulsang-Finalist, Hermes Foundation, Seoul

2011  Artist of Tomorrow, Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul

2008  Tom Bendhem Fine Art Bursary, St Edmund Hall, The University of Oxford, UK

Publication

2019  <Nanjido-Naturalized Plant> Seoul.

2018  <The Babel-Different Tongues> Daegu.

2014  <A Song of Lorelei> Seoul.

2012  <Na Hyun report - About the ethnic> Seoul.

2009  <Missing> Seoul.

2007  <Painting Landscapes Project> Seoul.

2005  <History> Seoul.