Yooyeon Nam

I am a Korean-born, New York-based oil painter. My works, through my characters, explore the weird nature of the world, where we are disconnected within our own communities. I investigate what it means to be an outsider in both my own and chosen cultures. Beyond cultural hardships, life itself is inherently strange, lacking innate meaning or predetermined purpose. This eerie discomfort is further evoked through a wide array of colors and mysterious narratives. By depicting my overly cute and adorable characters as suffering or being violent, I accentuate the sense of uncanniness, paradoxically intensifying the seriousness of my narratives.

My round-faced, nose-less characters reflect both my sense of displacement and my cultural heritage. Their blank faces and weird eyes echo norms where direct eye contact and overt emotional expression are considered impolite, a contrast to environments where eye contact is expected. I combine this alienation with my admiration for Buddha sculptures with idealized body forms that are believable, yet anatomically incorrect—qualities I aim to capture in my work.

2023
Pratt Institute, BFA Painting, Brooklyn, New York
Graduated with Highest Honors & Excellence in Academic Achievement
Minor in Museum and Gallery Practices

2021
Gunmyungwon, Seoul, Korea
an alternative graduate school with an intensive program teaching humanities, science and art

2019
Yonsei University, BBA Business, Seoul, Korea

2015
University of Maryland, Exchange Student Program, Baltimore, Washington D.C, the U.S.

Solo Exhibition
2024
"No Home in Wonderland", A Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S.

2023
"Kidnapped", Artists Living Room NYC, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S. (virtual)
"Perfect Kidnapping", Chashama Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S.
"Kidnapped", Steuben Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S.

2020
"Layers, Going into", Gallery Hushed, Seoul, Korea

2016
"Study about Red and Blue", Gallery DZ, Seoul, Korea
"Land of Phantoms", Gallery Comore, Seoul, Korea


Group Exhibition
2025
(forthcoming) “Flesh Spa”, with Silent Sister, Caelum Gallery, Manhattan, NY, the U.S.
(forthcoming) "AiR exhibition", Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, Woodstock, NY, the U.S.
“Real World”, with Random Affects & Llorona Studios, Grace Exhibition Space, Manhattan, NY, the U.S.

2024
“Desire – Body Without Organs”, A Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S.
“Mythologies”, Goddessarts Magazine (virtual)
“5 By 7 Show”, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, Woodstock, NY, the U.S.
“At a Moment Like This”, Artists Living Room, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S.
“Tradition, Identity & Future Narrative”, Salmagundi Club with IMUR gallery, Manhattan, NY, the U.S.
“KIDS ONLY”, A Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, the U.S.
“Interiority”, The Milostka Center with Culturally Arts Collective (virtual)
"Artexpo New York", ...