Seoul-based artist Ayoung Kim is the recipient of the Guggenheim LG Award which carries a purse of $100,000.
The Guggemheim LG Award was established as a joint collaboration between the Guggemheim Museum in New York and the Korean electronics giant LG. It is part of the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative which seeks to support art that uses technology as a key medium. The inaugural award was given in 2023 to Stephanie Dinkins and in 2024 to Shu Lea Cheang.
This year, the award is given to Korean artist Ayoung Kim. Kim is known for creating artworks that utilize live-action footage, motion-capture, animations, video game engines, and most recently, generative AI. The themes often involve blending mythology and cosmology. She often employs webtoon aesthetics, which uses simplistic caricatures but with a distinct style. Her most well-known work is the ‘Delivery Dancer’ series which explores the life of female delivery riders in a rapidly changing landscape post-pandemic. Talking about her work, Kim said: “As technology advances, human life inevitably becomes more intricate. What artists can do with technology is explore the uncertain possibilities it may conceal and deploy it in the most intuitive way. Not as a techno-determinist nor a techno-pessimist, I have always wanted to comment on the impact of technology in our society by using it.”
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Ayoung Kim has been a part of some of the most prestigious art events, including the 2015 Venice Biennale, the 2018 Gwangju Biennale, and the 2023 Sharjah Biennale. She is currently displayed at the “MACHINE LOVE: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art” exhibition at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum. This year, she will be part of an exhibition at Tate Modern and will get a solo show at MoMA PS1. Kim was chosen for the Guggenheim LG Award by a 5-member jury. Apart from the cash prize, she will also get collaboration and support from the initiative for the next 5 years.
