Yong Soon Min, the Korean American artist whose works addressed the Asian American experience, has died at 70, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles announced.
Born in Bugok, South Korea in 1953, Min immigrated with her family to California in 1960 and obtained her BFA, MA and MFA at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1981, the artist moved to New York where she ‘cut her political teeth’, according to her website.
With the artist’s first exhibition in 1986, Half Home, she began thinking critically about the Asian American identity, and how she could be politically engaged with Korean communities in New York. She became one of the most significant Asian-American feminist artists of the time, with her wide range of works such as Whirl War (1987), Defining Moments (1992) or Nexus (1992, in collaboration with Allan de Souza). In addition to her artistic practice, Min was a prolific curator and has also served on the Board of Directors of the Asian American Arts Alliance, the national Board of Directors of CAA and the Korean American Museum. She was Professor Emerita at UC Irvine.
