Fidan Kim

Into the Light

2021

Fidan Kim found early artistic success for her surreal, magical scenes and her ability to tell powerful stories through many mediums. Her figurative paintings and drawings are inspired largely by her dreamscapes. "Dreams are very important to me," she told Baku magazine. "I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and have to grab a piece of paper and make a quick sketch."

Kim was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and remembers loving art since early childhood. She began painting with watercolors as a toddler and realized that she wanted to be an artist when she was 12 years old. With support from her mother and grandmother, Kim embarked on a journey to pursue her passions. In the late 2000s, she began attending master's art classes in Edinburgh and Italy, and in 2014, she enrolled at the Azerbaijan State Art Academy.

Kim's art quickly garnered attention for its deep imagery. She often incorporates folk motifs and national symbols in her work, and she is not shy about using rich colors that pop off the canvas to grab the viewer's attention. Within just a few years of starting her career, Kim's artwork had been exhibited in Tbilisi, Paris, Moscow, New York, Shanghai and Beijing.

In 2022, Kim was also invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale. Her striking installation, Totem, explores humanity's struggle against itself and with the environment. Today, Kim lives and works in San Francisco and is represented by galleries worldwide.

On 1stDibs, find Fidan Kim paintings, drawings and more.