Courtney Bae

Courtney Jinsook Bae (Australian, b. 1986) is a Korean-American contemporary artist based in London, and the daughter of artist Sangki Bae. Working in oils and gouache watercolour, her portraiture work is highly art directed whilst her figurative work remains purely imaginative and viscerally emotional.

Bae’s works are known to be highly expressive, evoking themes of vulnerability and shame in a seemingly unattractive and exposing portrayal of the human form. She explores the relationship between trauma and resilience as they inform human identity, all through the lens of the conscious versus the subconscious and through overarching themes around dualism.

Bae's career highlights include solo exhibitions in London and New York, and her pieces have been shown at the Saatchi Gallery in London, The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, and Denise Bibro Fine Art in New York. She was also featured as a Semi-finalist on the national television series, Sky Portrait Artist of the Year, Series 12.

PRIZES

Highly Commended, Homiens Art Prize 2025

SOLO

Growth, New Ashgate Gallery, Surrey 2026 (upcoming)

Forgetting Recollection, Bermondsey Project Space, London 2021

Concrete, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn 2016

The Mood, Early Edition, Brooklyn 2016

GROUP

Marks of Reflection, Noho Galleries, London 2025 (upcoming)

Barbican Artworks Open, London 2025

The Dorset Open, Dorchester 2025

Sky Portrait Artist of the Year Semi-finalist, UK 2025

Green & Stone Summer Show, London 2025

Ruth Borchard 2025

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham 2025

Jackson’s Art Prize Extended Longlist, 2025

Saatchi Gallery, London 2022

Art Number 23, Athens 2020

Ferens Gallery, Hull 2020

Candid Arts Trust, London 2019

Fusion V, London 2019

We Art Sweet Art, London 2018

Dacia Gallery, New York 2016

Site Gallery, Brooklyn 2016

Friday Studio, Brooklyn 2016

Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York 2016

MEDIA COVERAGE

Cass Art Blog 2025

Women United Art Prize 2025 Shortlist (final still pending)

Behind the Artist 2025

Surrey World 2025

Art By Artists 2025

Australian Women in New York 2016