Nathaniel Kyung Smith

Nathaniel Kyung Smith (b. 1990) grew up in a rural part of Minnesota. He spent his
summers exploring the many bodies of water and forests in the area, as well as
performing chores around his parent’s flower shop. The vistas of Lake Superior were
especially striking to him— where volcanic bluffs, expanses of still, clear water and
billowing clouds converged to create landscapes of interlocking color and shape.

Smith embodies his practice as a process of personal discovery, his works exploring the
human body’s psychological and spiritual relationship to both natural and built
environments. His work is historically grounded in its use of traditional materials
including carved stone, ceramics and oil paint. His work is informed and expanded by
the performative and embodied artforms of dance and theater. Smith’s figurative work
references modernist sculpture and painting: cubism, surrealism, neoclassicism and
naturalism.

He was educated in fine art and Socratic Seminar at Biola University in Los Angeles,
receiving his BFA in Studio Arts in 2014. He has exhibited in group exhibitions at La
Beast, Green Gallery, Prism Gallery, Pasadena City College, and has publicly visible
artworks around Los Angeles.