ABOUT DAEUN

Daeun Kim is a New York City-based painter, illustrator, graphic designer, and photographer currently studying Fine Arts at LaGuardia High School. Her work draws from her cultural background and experience as a first-generation immigrant from South Korea, as well as from the people and issues around her.

Her portfolio spans acrylic and oil painting, mixed media, printmaking, digital illustration, graphic design, and photography. Through these mediums, she explores the emerging facets of her identity as a young individual, using art as an outlet for self-exploration rooted in her interest in art therapy. She is mainly inspired by modern art and Impressionism.

In her series Monsterization, she confronts the tension between how she feels to be perceived as a small, easygoing Asian female student, and how she wishes to be seen: supernatural, formidable, and uncontainable. The series weaves together themes of feminism and the psychological weight of immigration.

Daeun is naturally drawn to work that feels culturally and politically significant, and gravitates toward projects that bridge multiple disciplines. She is passionate about integrating creative practice into community service, whether through creative nonprofit initiatives or student-led clubs. Building on her background in photography and advanced Photoshop, she is now expanding into film and cinematography.