Suah Im
Suah Im
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EN I DE

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Statement

Suah Im explores the origins of the self, as well as the transformative and multifaceted nature of identity. Her work is rooted in experiences of migration, cultural transition, and adaptation to constantly shifting environments. In doing so, she reflects on encounters with boundaries and restrictions while engaging in their questioning and transcendence. Drawing on Korean traditional mythologies, intercultural intersections, and Daoist philosophy, she examines the fragility of contemporary identity and seeks alternative ways of being.

These concerns take shape through multimedia strategies. The choice of medium does not follow a fixed form, but instead emerges from the specific question each work poses. Drawing plays a particularly important role. For Suah Im, it is a dialogue with hidden layers of the self that exist beyond a fixed or superficial sense of identity. In this process, the unconscious is brought to the surface and enters into relation with conscious thought, gradually giving rise to a distinct visual language. The resulting drawings expand into installative situations, performances, video works, or kinetic objects, and may become intertwined with one another. In this way, drawing runs through her artistic practice as a point of departure, a field of experimentation, and a connective element.

 

 

Suah Im

Education:
2022-2023   Meisterschülerin, Media Art at the Berlin University of the Arts, DE
2013-2019    Diploma in Fine Arts at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, DE

Solo Exhibitions
2024-2025   FRISCHZELLE_31: Suah Im, Art Museum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
2023   Entropy, EIGEN+ART Lab, Berlin, DE 

2023   Smooth Criminal, SOMA Art Space, Berlin, DE 

2022   schwach-biegsam-stark, Gallery Old Town Hall Musberg, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE
2019   Ja-Ak Power Plant, Artforum Rhee, Bucheon, KR

Suah Im
Suah Im
Suah Im

Awards, Grants and Residencies
2026   Scholarship, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, DE
2026   Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Berlin, DE
2025   Residency Scholarship, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, FR
2024   Visual Artist Scholarship, Arts Foundation Baden-Württemberg, DE
2023   Nominee, UdK Berlin Art Award, Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin, DE
2023   Project Funding, Cultural Office of the City of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
2022   First Exhibition of Solo Artists, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, DE
2021    Winner, kunsthub Art Prize 2021, MHZ + Kulturamt + Kulturkreis Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE
2021    Publication Grant, Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, DE
2021    NEUSTART KULTUR: Kickstarter Grant, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, DE
2021    Project Grant, Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, DE
2020    Winner, Werner Pokorny Foundation Art Prize, DE
2020    Artist Residency, Raumstation, Stuttgart, DE
2020    Research Grant, Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, Seoul, KR
2020–2025    Studio Grant, Cultural Office of the City of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
2018    Nominee, 24th Federal Prize for Art Students, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, DE
2018    13th Archive Artist, SOMA Drawing Center, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
2017    DAAD Art Prize, DE

 

Gruppenausstellungen (Auswahl):
2025   Kunst hilft helfen- 30. Kunstauktion, St. Matthäus-Kirche, Berlin, DE

2025  This Station is OOO, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, FR
2025  The Drawing: Personal Definitions, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
2025   The Illusionists: Sensor Deception, EXO Gallery, Stuttgart, DE
2025   Displaced Becoming, Kunstpunkt Berlin, Berlin, DE
2025   Ästhetische Wiederbewaffnung-30.ROHKUNSTBAU, Schloss Altdöbern, DE
2025   Jott Hoch2, Schaufenster, Berlin, DE
2025   REVERIES OF A SOLITARY MUSE, Haverkampf Leistenschneider Gallery, Berlin, DE
2024   Höhe x Breite x Tiefe, EIGEN+ART Leipzig, Leipzig, DE ​
2024    1+1, Gallery Met, Berlin, DE
2024    Solo Booth_Spotlight on South Korea, POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, Berlin, DE
2024    Innocent Monster, Hilbertraum, Berlin, DE
2024    MORE STRANGE THINGS, Silent Green Kulturquartier, Berlin, DE
2023    Verträumt, Kunstraum Potsdamer Straße, Berlin, DE
2023    Nominee exhibition of the UdK Berlin Art Awards, Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin, DE
2022    Academy POSITIONS, Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin, DE
2022    GLÄNZT- Preisträger*innen der Werner-Pokorny Stiftung, Q-Gallery, Schorndorf, DE
2022    in relation to, Burg Galerie Volkspark, Halle, DE
2022    Preisträger*innen der Werner-Pokorny Stiftung, Museum Ettlingen, DE
2021     Kunstpreis kunsthub 2021, Galerie Altes Rathaus Musberg, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE
2020   She is Dangerous, Raumstation, Waggons Nordbahnhof, Stuttgart, DE
2019    Diplom Bildende Kunst, Kunstbezirk, Stuttgart, DE
2018    CHEERS, EIGEN+ART Lab, Berlin, DE
2018    Do Not Disturb, Kunstverein Hechingen, Hechingen, DE
2018    Condition:Uncanny, EIGEN+ART Lab, Berlin, DE
2017    Good Will. Best Intentions. Terrible Misunderstanding, Kunstbezirk, Stuttgart, DE
2016    GENESIS/JUST IN TIME, Künstlerbund Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, DE
2015    There is no Drama, Kunstraum34, Stuttgart, DE
2015    Backup_ 24. Kurzfilmfestival Weimar, Weimar, DE

Publications
2024    Frischzelle_31: Suah Im, Art Museum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
ISBN: 978-3-940366-39-9

2022    Springseil (Die Überwindung der Grenze), Suah Im, Stuttgart, DE
ISBN: 978-3-947198-48-1

Collections
Art Museum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE

Leinfelden-Echterdingen Cultural Office, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE

 

 

 

EN I DE

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Statement

Suah Im explores the origins of the self, as well as the transformative and multifaceted nature of identity. Her work is rooted in experiences of migration, cultural transition, and adaptation to constantly shifting environments. In doing so, she reflects on encounters with boundaries and restrictions while engaging in their questioning and transcendence. Drawing on Korean traditional mythologies, intercultural intersections, and Daoist philosophy, she examines the fragility of contemporary identity and seeks alternative ways of being.

These concerns take shape through multimedia strategies. The choice of medium does not follow a fixed form, but instead emerges from the specific question each work poses. Drawing plays a particularly important role. For Suah Im, it is a dialogue with hidden layers of the self that exist beyond a fixed or superficial sense of identity. In this process, the unconscious is brought to the surface and enters into relation with conscious thought, gradually giving rise to a distinct visual language. The resulting drawings expand into installative situations, performances, video works, or kinetic objects, and may become intertwined with one another. In this way, drawing runs through her artistic practice as a point of departure, a field of experimentation, and a connective element.

 

 

Suah Im

Education:
2022-2023   Meisterschülerin, Media Art at the Berlin University of the Arts, DE
2013-2019    Diploma in Fine Arts at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, DE

Solo Exhibitions
2024-2025   FRISCHZELLE_31: Suah Im, Art Museum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
2023   Entropy, EIGEN+ART Lab, Berlin, DE 

2023   Smooth Criminal, SOMA Art Space, Berlin, DE 

2022   schwach-biegsam-stark, Gallery Old Town Hall Musberg, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE
2019   Ja-Ak Power Plant, Artforum Rhee, Bucheon, KR

Suah Im
Suah Im
Suah Im

Awards, Grants and Residencies
2026   Scholarship, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, DE
2026   Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt, Berlin, DE
2025   Residency Scholarship, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, FR
2024   Visual Artist Scholarship, Arts Foundation Baden-Württemberg, DE
2023   Nominee, UdK Berlin Art Award, Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin, DE
2023   Project Funding, Cultural Office of the City of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
2022   First Exhibition of Solo Artists, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, DE
2021    Winner, kunsthub Art Prize 2021, MHZ + Kulturamt + Kulturkreis Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE
2021    Publication Grant, Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, DE
2021    NEUSTART KULTUR: Kickstarter Grant, Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn, DE
2021    Project Grant, Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, DE
2020    Winner, Werner Pokorny Foundation Art Prize, DE
2020    Artist Residency, Raumstation, Stuttgart, DE
2020    Research Grant, Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, Seoul, KR
2020–2025    Studio Grant, Cultural Office of the City of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
2018    Nominee, 24th Federal Prize for Art Students, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, DE
2018    13th Archive Artist, SOMA Drawing Center, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
2017    DAAD Art Prize, DE

 

Gruppenausstellungen (Auswahl):
2025   Kunst hilft helfen- 30. Kunstauktion, St. Matthäus-Kirche, Berlin, DE

2025  This Station is OOO, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, FR
2025  The Drawing: Personal Definitions, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
2025   The Illusionists: Sensor Deception, EXO Gallery, Stuttgart, DE
2025   Displaced Becoming, Kunstpunkt Berlin, Berlin, DE
2025   Ästhetische Wiederbewaffnung-30.ROHKUNSTBAU, Schloss Altdöbern, DE
2025   Jott Hoch2, Schaufenster, Berlin, DE
2025   REVERIES OF A SOLITARY MUSE, Haverkampf Leistenschneider Gallery, Berlin, DE
2024   Höhe x Breite x Tiefe, EIGEN+ART Leipzig, Leipzig, DE ​
2024    1+1, Gallery Met, Berlin, DE
2024    Solo Booth_Spotlight on South Korea, POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, Berlin, DE
2024    Innocent Monster, Hilbertraum, Berlin, DE
2024    MORE STRANGE THINGS, Silent Green Kulturquartier, Berlin, DE
2023    Verträumt, Kunstraum Potsdamer Straße, Berlin, DE
2023    Nominee exhibition of the UdK Berlin Art Awards, Berlin University of the Arts, Berlin, DE
2022    Academy POSITIONS, Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin, DE
2022    GLÄNZT- Preisträger*innen der Werner-Pokorny Stiftung, Q-Gallery, Schorndorf, DE
2022    in relation to, Burg Galerie Volkspark, Halle, DE
2022    Preisträger*innen der Werner-Pokorny Stiftung, Museum Ettlingen, DE
2021     Kunstpreis kunsthub 2021, Galerie Altes Rathaus Musberg, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE
2020   She is Dangerous, Raumstation, Waggons Nordbahnhof, Stuttgart, DE
2019    Diplom Bildende Kunst, Kunstbezirk, Stuttgart, DE
2018    CHEERS, EIGEN+ART Lab, Berlin, DE
2018    Do Not Disturb, Kunstverein Hechingen, Hechingen, DE
2018    Condition:Uncanny, EIGEN+ART Lab, Berlin, DE
2017    Good Will. Best Intentions. Terrible Misunderstanding, Kunstbezirk, Stuttgart, DE
2016    GENESIS/JUST IN TIME, Künstlerbund Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, DE
2015    There is no Drama, Kunstraum34, Stuttgart, DE
2015    Backup_ 24. Kurzfilmfestival Weimar, Weimar, DE

Publications
2024    Frischzelle_31: Suah Im, Art Museum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE
ISBN: 978-3-940366-39-9

2022    Springseil (Die Überwindung der Grenze), Suah Im, Stuttgart, DE
ISBN: 978-3-947198-48-1

Collections
Art Museum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, DE

Leinfelden-Echterdingen Cultural Office, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, DE


 FRISCHZELLE_31 2024-2025     
   Come Come Upward       
   Station     
   Samsara, Window, Tofu

 

 Skelett 2025 

 Hero 2024

 BEAR WOMAN 2023       
   Bear Woman on the Third Planet       
   Schnah, the Vanished Bear Woman
   The Bear Woman Schnah Wakes Up       

 

 ENTROPY 2023        
   The strait gate and narrow way     
   Übermenschen       
   Tongue

 

 A Speaker and a Listener 2022

 To the Ant 2021

 Good Morning with MJ 2020  


FRISCHZELLE_31 2024-2025     
   

  Come Come Upward       
   

  Station      
   

  Samsara, Window, Tofu
Skelett 2025 

 
Hero 2024
 
BEAR WOMAN 2023       
   

  Bear Woman on the Third Planet       
   

  Schnah, the Vanished Bear Woman
   

  The Bear Woman Wakes Up    

ENTROPY 2023        
   

  The strait gate and narrow way      
   
 
 Übermenschen       
   
 
 Tongue
A Speaker and a Listener 2022

To the Ant 2021



Good Morning with MJ 2020