Ki Yoong’s paintings are marked by a quiet tenderness, underscored by his distinctive used of tightly cropped compositions. This approach becomes a deeply personal gesture which acts to focus the gaze whilst suggesting intimacy and connection. The removal of visual information also opens space for projection, inviting the viewer to bring their own associations and memories into the process of looking.
"What I want to explore isn’t necessarily the individual at all, but a shape, a feeling — something familiar that reaches beyond identity. We’re wired to recognise faces, even where there are none: in clouds, in rocks, in buildings. And that instinct works in reverse too. When I look at a portrait, I find myself noticing what else it brings to mind — a line, a curve, a shadow that feels like something I’ve seen or felt before. A jaw might echo the bend of a river. A cheekbone might mirror the slope of a hill.
It’s these small echoes that I find compelling. They remind me that portraiture, for all its ties to likeness and identity, is also deeply abstract — made of shapes, rhythms, and forms that resonate beyond the human face. I’m thinking of faces not only as representations of people, but as visual structures that prompt recognition in the broadest sense. We project meaning onto them, and they return that gesture by pulling memories out of us — memories that may have nothing to do with people, but everything to do with how we’ve moved through the world."
- Ki Yoong, 2025
Rendered with meticulous detail, Yoong’s diminutive paintings are constructed from many translucent layers of oil paint, each applied with a tiny brush in a process akin to drawing. Rather than bold, expressive brushstrokes, Yoong favours subtle accumulation, fine gestures that coalesce into images that are concurrently precise and ephemeral.
Ki Yoong (b.1988, Bradford, UK) lives and works in London. Yoong received his BA in Fine Art from The University of Leeds in 2010 and his MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins in 2013. Recent exhibitions include: Figurative Impressions, Hurst Contemporary, London, UK (2024); Studio West, MEGA Art Fair, Milan, Italy (2024); Marilyn, Plop Residency, London, UK (2024); The Blush Upon Her Cheek, Studio West, London, UK (2024); Faces/Faces, Slugtown, Newcastle, UK (2023); The Picture, Brooke Benington, London, UK (2023); Skin Deep, Studio West, London, UK (2023); A Celebration of Portraiture, Marlborough Gallery, London, UK (2023).
Yoong has also collaborated with various brands and institutions such as Vogue, Alex Eagle, Paul Smith, and The House of St Barnabas. Since 2019 he has been Artist in Residence at Coppermill Primary School, Walthamstow.
