Kim Byungkwan is a contemporary visual artist whose work explores the boundaries between familiarity and strangeness. Through painting and mixed media, he challenges habitual vision — the automatic ways we perceive the world — by deconstructing and reconstructing everyday imagery. By disrupting visual comfort, Kim invites viewers to reconsider their surroundings and discover new possibilities within the ordinary. His practice reflects a deep belief in the transformative power of perception and the potential for art to lead us “off the track” toward unexpected perspectives.

What I aim to express through my work is simple: I seek to reveal strangeness within familiarity. Everything in this world offers us a certain kind of familiar vision — an automatic way of seeing that, over time, becomes habitual.

This visual habit brings us comfort, but it also limits us. It closes the door to other possibilities, keeping us bound to routines and preventing us from truly exploring the wonders that surround us. Through my work, I aim to disrupt, dismantle, and reconstruct these ingrained patterns of seeing, challenging viewers to reconsider what they think they know.

By breaking apart habitual vision, I hope to open up new perspectives — unexpected ways of perceiving the world, ourselves, and the objects around us. I believe that this shift in perception can inspire personal transformation and encourage us to step off the well-worn path.

“Strangeness within habitual vision — off the track.”
— Kim Byungkwan (Artist’s Note)