Frank Jimin Hopp

Frank Jimin Hopp (1994) is a German-Korean artist who is currently living and working in Berlin, Germany. His art is inspired by literature, mythology, or art history subjects, in combination with current political events or everyday considerations. He studied fine arts at the UdK Berlin and at the University Of Arts London as well as political science at the FU Berlin.

Shortly after starting his studies at the UdK in Berlin, he embarked on veritable years of travel, completing annual exchange programs to the Universidad Compluente in Madrid, the renowned Chelsea College of Arts in London, and Hongik University in Seoul. In the process, he not only deepened his studies of the liberal arts, but also networked beyond the German art scene and put his compatibility for the art market to the test internationally.

His first career steps include exhibitions in Spain and Italy, in Warsaw, London, Amsterdam, New York and Seoul. In addition, his recent participation in Documenta 15 in Kassel deserves a special mention. Among other things, he received a foreign grant from the Cusanuswerk, a prize from the Walter Stöhrer Foundation and was an artist in residence at the Künstlerhaus Neumünster.

His work is characterized by a balanced coexistence of painting and sculpture and unfolds in their interdisciplinary approach a fine, interdependent and amazingly mature interaction of materials. Frank Jimin Hopp’s sculptures are reminiscent of the childishness of the works of Joakim Ojanen or Tommi Toija. His sneakers show parallels to the sneakers and everyday objects from youth culture and pop by the sculptor Rose Eken. The modern way he glazes his ceramics with paint reveals cross- references and a certain kinship to the sculptures of Lindsey Mendick, Klara Kristalova and Asana Fujikawa.

We find his rough and sweeping way of painting formally in the paintings of Dieter Kriegs or the colour furrows of Anselm Kiefer. The blurred figures placed in the picture are reminiscent of George Rouy or Haein Kim and show analogies to Gao Hang’s video game paintings. Katherine Bernhardt seems to have been the godfather of his fashion logos, sneakers and set pieces from comics. And his garishly exalted colour palette is reminiscent of Austin Lee.