Yesum Yoon (b. 1995) is a South Korean artist creating imaginary landscapes of creature-like forms, and soundscapes. Through sculpture, drawing, writing, sound, and installation, her works weave together encounters between unfamiliar beings, bodies, and spaces, forming speculative ecosystems that follow relational logics of their own.
Her practice explores attempts to capture intimacy, love, and the desire to connect. At a time when connection is increasingly measured by speed and clarity, Yoon is drawn to what gets lost in the name of efficiency. She considers how care is postponed amid the busy rhythms of everyday life, and how feelings that resist clear expression persist within a culture that demands clarity. As a cultural nomad, she creates worlds shaped by the permanent flux of closures and openings, where belonging remains in motion and unfamiliar encounters offer possibilities for connection.
Yoon calls the space that emerges between her beings ( h o l l o w n e s s ): a layer of air, a passage, an opening between things. Rather than an absence waiting to be filled, this space allows uncertainty to remain present and meaningful. Through the shifting relationships between her forms, she explores how closeness might emerge without certainty, and how care can take shape through hesitation, vulnerability, and the willingness to approach one another again. Within these spaces, distance becomes not simply what separates us, but what makes a meeting possible.
Her practice explores attempts to capture intimacy, love, and the desire to connect. At a time when connection is increasingly measured by speed and clarity, Yoon is drawn to what gets lost in the name of efficiency. She considers how care is postponed amid the busy rhythms of everyday life, and how feelings that resist clear expression persist within a culture that demands clarity. As a cultural nomad, she creates worlds shaped by the permanent flux of closures and openings, where belonging remains in motion and unfamiliar encounters offer possibilities for connection.
Yoon calls the space that emerges between her beings ( h o l l o w n e s s ): a layer of air, a passage, an opening between things. Rather than an absence waiting to be filled, this space allows uncertainty to remain present and meaningful. Through the shifting relationships between her forms, she explores how closeness might emerge without certainty, and how care can take shape through hesitation, vulnerability, and the willingness to approach one another again. Within these spaces, distance becomes not simply what separates us, but what makes a meeting possible.
Please don’t hesitate to connect with me via
︎︎︎ @yesumyesum
︎︎︎ yoonyesum@gmail.com
Solo Exhibition
2026 NOW ON VIEW <Slow Slow quick quick Slow>, Gallery Joey Ramone, Rotterdam, NL︎︎︎
2023 <0.The Fool’s Invitation>, Salon Veneman, Eindhoven, NL
2021 <Housewarming>, Instituto, Porto, PT
2016 <Not for your sex, just for my sake>, Deo Cut, Seoul, KR
Duo Exhibition
2020 <The Necessary Ornaments and The Displayed Tools>, Gallery the necessaries, Seoul, KR
Selected Group Exhibition
2026 UPCOMING <Lace Stories>, Tent, Rotterdam, NL
2026 <Minor Attraction>, The Newman, London, UK
2026 <Limassol Art Walk>, Gallery Joey Ramone, Limassol, CY
2026 <GRAW 26>, Atelier Oranjeboom, Rotterdam, NL
2026 <Wild Summer of Art>, Brutus, Rotterdam, NL
2026 <Open Studio Borgerstraat>, Studio Borgerstraat, Rotterdam, NL
2026 <The Way We Live Together Now>, Gallery Joey Ramone, Rotterdam, NL
2026 <The Space Does Not Agree>, Brutus, Rotterdam, NL
2025 <The Way We Live Together Now> EINS Apartment, Limassol, CY
2025 <All You Can Eat>, Eindhoven Centraal Station, Eindhoven, NL
2025 <Always container, sometimes contained> Oud House, Rotterdam, NL
2025 <Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams> DDP, Seoul, KR
2024 <Chaism> Sectie-C, Eindhoven, NL
2024 <Design Fair>, Nieuwe Institute, Rotterdam, NL
2024 <Collectible Fair> Espace Vanderborght, Brussels, BE
2024 <Future Classics> Frozen Fountain, Amsterdam, NL
2023 <Lady Dior As Seen By> Dior Seongsu, Seoul, KR
2023 <Late night snacks> NOR, Eindhoven, NL
2023 <Genious Freaks> Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, FR
2022 <GS22> Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL︎︎︎
2022 <Transcrossing Identities> Kazerne, Eindhoven, NL︎︎︎
2021 <Zero Hunger> Klokgebouw, Eindhoven, NL
2021 <Feel the vibe> Eindhoven Airport Vitrine, Eindhoven, NL︎︎︎
2019 <We are about to.>, HOMA, Seoul, KR
2019 <Future Mimic>, HOMA, Seoul, KR
2018 <Gi-zil>, La Mer Gallery, Seoul, KR
2016 <HIAX>, HOMA, Seoul, KR
Collected by
Christian Dior Couture
Grants
2026 International Voucher, Mondriaan Fonds, NL
2026 Impuls and Verdieping(I&V), CBK Rotterdam, NL
2026 Ontwikkelbijdrage, Het Cultuur Fonds(Tijl Fonds), NL
2023 Snelgeld, Cultuur Eindhoven, NL
Awards & Artist in Residence
2022 Workshop Award, Design Academy Eindhoven, Eindhoven, NL
2022 Artist in Residence, Reon, Corfu, GR︎︎︎
2021 Artist in Residence, INSTITUTO, Porto, PT︎︎︎
2020 Shortlist, Ein&Zwanzig, German Design Council ︎︎︎
Megazine & Interview
2021 Sleepers Summit
2020 LEDEBUT vol.47
Education
2022 MA, Social Design, Design Academy Eindhoven, Eindhoven, NL
2020 BFA, Metal Art & Design, Hongik University, Seoul, KR
2020 BFA, Wood Working & Furniture Design, Hongik University, Seoul, KR
2018 Freestand, Craft and Design with Specialisation in Wood, HDK-Valand, Dals Langed, SE
2018 Freestand, Craft and Design with Specialisation in Metal, HDK-Valand, Dals Langed, SE