Sang Woo Kim

10:31 p.m.

Among the side exhibitions of the 2026 Venice Biennale, the show AURA by artist Sang Woo Kim (Korea, 1994) stands out at AMA Venezia. There, small portraits explore the identity and cultural experience of an artist living outside his birthplace.

In most of the paintings, faces appear fragmented—rendered in such a way that it remains unclear whether they depict a self-portrait or an unidentified subject—yet the most recurring motif is that of the eyes. Both the small scale and the intimacy of the depicted figure draw the viewer closer to the inner world of this artist, who delights us with his impeccable, virtually photorealistic technique.