Artist Talk with MyungJin Kim

Join exhibiting artist MyungJin Kim and moderator Rodman Primack, co-founder of AGO Projects, for an artist talk offering deeper insight into the ideas behind Kim’s work featured in LBMA’s exhibition, Holding Time: The Works of Elyse Pignolet and MyungJin Kim, on view through June 7, 2026.

The program will begin with opening remarks and a brief introduction to Kim’s practice, followed by a guided conversation exploring key themes in the exhibition, including material experimentation, cultural references, and the conceptual frameworks shaping the work.

*Ticket prices reflect LBMA gallery admission pricing. Day-of in-person tickets available (while supplies last)

MyungJin Kim, born in South Korea, earned her MFA in ceramics from Seoul National University in 2002. After relocating to Los Angeles, her work began to blend Eastern and Western influences, drawing inspiration from traditional Korean Minhwa, particularly 19th-century Hwajodo paintings that symbolize prosperity, longevity, and happiness.

Rodman Primack is the founder of the art, design, and interior design practice AGO Interiors and co-founder of AGO Projects, which represents Kim and several other artists and designers. He previously served as Executive Director and Chief Creative Officer of the collectible design fair Design Miami, Head Specialist in Latin American Art at Christie’s, and later as a Director at the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles.

Holding Time is an exhibition highlighting the work of Elyse Pignolet and MyungJin Kim, two contemporary Southern California women artists who use ceramics—particularly vessels—as a medium for storytelling. While their visual styles and narratives differ greatly, this exhibition brings their work together to explore how both artists have broken from the conceptual traditions of ceramics introduced by Southern California ceramicists of the early 1960’s. They instead embrace historically rooted forms—vases, pots, tiles, and mirrors—to communicate personal and culturally resonant narratives.

Despite their differences, Pignolet and Kim share a common language: the use of botanicals and decorative motifs on the surfaces of their vessels. These aesthetic elements become tools for layered, symbolic storytelling centered around themes such as femininity, social justice, cultural stereotypes, mythology, deities, and folk-art traditions.

Exhibition photo by Jeff McLane.