In times that often feel disconnected and fast-paced, Jill Kyong’s art serves as a reminder of the profound and slower beauty inherent in nature and the need for human connections. Her work is a celebration of these elements, creating a visual dialogue that invites viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect, reminding us that amidst the chaos, there is always room for wonder, peace, and hope.
Jill transforms the three-dimensional world she sees into flat geometric shapes. Using her fine woodworking skills, she meticulously selects and layers various woods, showing their unique woodgrains like brush strokes, and creates sculptural spaces that spark a dialogue between light and shadows. With her keen observations of the world, Jill weaves a narrative in her work that focuses on nature and hope. Through thoughtful use of composition, proportion, and moveable objects, Jill creates interactive experiences and invites viewers to engage with her art, often allowing them to move certain elements to connect with the work in their own way.
Jill Kyong has a BFA from the Univ. of Minnesota with a focus on metal casting and will soon have an MFA from the Univ. of Idaho. Jill creates wall reliefs, sculpture, studio furniture, and installations primarily from wood. Her work has shown nationally, including at the Jundt Museum at Gonzaga, the AAW Gallery of Wood Art in Minnesota, the Wharton Esherick Museum in Pennsylvania, The Art Center Highland Park in Chicago, the Korean-American Museum in Los Angeles, the Boise Art Museum, and the Seattle Art Fair.
CURRICULUM VITAE:
Exhibitions
2025:
Seattle Art Fair, with The Art Spirit Gallery, July
The Art Spirit Gallery, Group Show, Epiphany, Coeur d’Alene, ID, June
Slip Stitch Studio, Solo Show, Abstracted Landscapes, Seattle, WA, May-June
Reflections Gallery, University of Idaho, Solo Show, The Space In Between, May
Sears Art Museum, 38th Annual Sears Invitational Art Show, Utah Tech, St. George, Utah, February
2024:
Entropy Gallery, Illuminated, two person show, juried, Spokane, WA, November
Intersect Art Center, Evidence of Joy, juried, St. Louis, MO, August
Seattle Art Fair, with JDS Gallery, July
Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga, Landscape Art Exhibition, juried, Spokane, WA, June
Art Spirit Gallery, Convergence, group show, June and July
Gallery in the Park, MFA Scholarship Show, solo show, juried, Richland, WA, April
Center for Art and History, But Where I Am Now, solo show, invited, Lewiston, ID, January
2023: Art Spirit Gallery, Small Works Show, invitational
University of Montana, International MFA Online Exhibition, Day Dreams, juried, third place
Ridenbaugh Gallery, Control-MFA Collaboration Show, Moscow, ID
Seattle Art Fair, with JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA
Dahmen Barn, Magnificent World of Wood, Uniontown, WA
America Association of Wood Turners, POP Show, invited, St. Paul, MN
Moscow Intermodal Transit Center Sculpture Garden, juried, Moscow, ID
The Art Spirit Gallery, Inspired Design, group show, Coeur D’Alene, ID
Ridenbaugh Gallery, Transient Beings, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
2022: University of Montana International MFA online exhibit, Here, There, Nowhere, juried
Yuan Ru Art Gallery, Transcending Boundaries, Bellevue, WA
Ridenbaugh Gallery, Convergence, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
Dahmen Barn, Wonderful World of Wood, Uniontown, WA
Art Center Highland Park, Nature vs Nurture, juried, Highland Park, IL
The Art Spirit Gallery, Terra, group show, Coeur D’Alene, ID
2020 – 2021: Wharton Esherick Museum, Wood and…, juried, Malvern, PA
The Art Spirit Gallery, Unwrap the Creative, invitational, Coeur D’Alene, ID
The Art Spirit Gallery, Confluence/Influence, Coeur D’Alene, ID
Dahmen Barn, The Wood Show, Uniontown, WA
Boise Art Museum Triennial, juried, Boise, ID, jurors award
2017 – 2019: Prichard Art Gallery, Benefit Show, Moscow, ID
3rd Street Gallery, Wood and Word, Moscow, ID
Interior Designers of Idaho, Chair Affair, Boise, ID
McCleod Art Gallery, With the Grain-Fine Wood Working and Studio Furniture, Little Rock, AR
Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Delta Des Refuses, Little Rock, AR
Arkansas Museum of Fine Art Instructor Gallery, Wood Show, Little Rock, AR
Artist Talks:
The Art Spirit Gallery, Coeur D’Alene, ID, June, 2024
Center for Art and History, Lewiston, ID February 2024
JDS Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2023
Awards:
Outstanding Service Award, College of Art and Architecture Art & Design Department, U of Idaho, 2024
MFA Solo Show and Scholarship, Allied Arts Association, Richland, WA 2024
3rd Place, International MFA Online Exhibit, University of Montana, 2023
Outstanding Service Award, College of Art and Architecture Art & Design Department, U of Idaho, 2023
Juror’s Merit Award, Boise Art Museum Triennial, 2020
People’s Choice Award, Interior Designers of Idaho Chair Affair, 2019
Best Grad Student Design, Interior Designers of Idaho Chair Affair, 2019
Most Creative Award, Interior Designers of Idaho Chair Affair, 2019
Current Gallery Representation:
The Art Spirit Gallery, Coeur d’Alene, ID
Slip Stich Studio, Seattle, WA
Yuan Ru Art Gallery, Bellevue, WA
Exhibit Coordinator and Designer:
Chonnam National University, South Korea, Art Department Faculty and Grad Student Show, University of Idaho, Ridenbaugh Gallery, 2024
The Korean Wave, AsiaPOP! 2024, University of Idaho, Reflections Gallery, 2024
Manga and War, Reflections Gallery, University of Idaho, 2023
Manga Contest, High School and College art contests with $12,000 in scholarships, U of Idaho, 2023
Remembering Hiroshima, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Exhibit, Reflections Gallery, U of Idaho, 2022
Juror:
The Starving Artist Sale, juried art sale, 2024, 2025
Emerge Gallery, Origins of Identity, Coeur D’Alene, ID, 2023
-How nationality, race, and sexual identity shape who we are as artists and the work we create.
Emerge Gallery, Pop Up Show, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 2021
Artistic Director:
Habib Institute for Asian Studies, branding and graphic design work for promotional materials, current
AsiaPOP! branding and design work for all assets, U of Idaho, 2023, 20024
MARACA, Mid-Atlantic Regional Association of Crime Analysts, logo and design work, Philadelphia, PA 2023
Bixi Beer, design work for in-house assets, Chicago, IL
Fat Willy’s Rib Shack: branding and design work for all visual assets, Chicago, IL
Organizations: Founder and president of Art & Design Graduate Student Group
Coordinated an MFA exhibition award for all MFA grad students to be eligible for exhibitions award money to help offset the expenses of mounting an MFA thesis show.
Starving Artists Sale 2024 and 2025: organized and coordinated the first two student artist sales for the U of Idaho. Sixty-five artist vendors were accepted the second year with heavy emphasis on training students how to market and sell their art. Cash awards were given to best student art, best displays and Moscow Contemporary Art Gallery offered awards to sell student art in their gift shop. Proceeds from the sale are distributed to MFA grad students to help offset the cost of their thesis exhibition.
Education:
MFA candidate, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 2022-present
Post Baccalaureate, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, School for Art & Design, 2018
Artist Inc. Fellow, Mid-America Arts Council, Little Rock, AR, 2017
BFA, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, sculpture & metal casting, 1997
Teaching:
Instructional Assistant, University of Idaho College of Art and Architecture, Integrated Design, Drawing I and II, Sculpture I, present
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Windgate Art School, woodworking, 2012 – 2018
Private and group art lessons to youth and teens, 1999-2001, 2015-2018
Press:
“Exploring the World from the Gallery Wall”, Inland 360, January 24, 2024
“Letting the Sun Shine In“, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, May 27, 2023
“Form|Content: AAW POP Exhibition”, Woodworker West, May/June 2023
“Wonderful World of Wood”, Woodworker West, August 2022
“Contemporary Artist Explores New Beginnings”, Lewiston Tribune, April 29, 2021
“Wood Artisans at the Dahmen Barn”, Woodworker West, Sept-Oct 2020
“The Art Spirit Gallery”, Woodworker West, July 2021
“Dahmen Barn Show”, Woodworker West, July 2021
“Championing Idaho”, Boise Weekly, Mar 18, 2020
“Jill Kyong’s handsome “Shelf” works echo the precisionist aesthetic of early 20th-century American art with their machined look, smooth surfaces and crisp materiality. Kyong’s smart, strong rectilinear compositions in dark and light wood, accented by precisely milled “stones” of maple are beautifully executed.” Christopher Schnoor
Volunteer:
Starving Artist Sale Director, 2024, 2025
Props and Costume designer, Champaign Urbana Ballet Company, 2002-2009
Collections:
Jundt Museum at Gonzaga, Spokane, WA
Pain Field Airport, Seattle, WA
Collected in the United States and internationally
email:
jillkyong@gmail.com