Looking after a life 
In 1995 when a baby was born, the young married couple was just happy to look at the baby. But the baby couldn’t suck the mother’s breast. He barely swallowed each drop of breast milk or milk. Because the baby didn’t eat a lot, he didn’t gain weight much even after a month. Around that time, the doctor suggested to conduct a gene test. The couple didn’t even ask the doctor why the test should be done. They just hoped that their baby could eat well. The result of the test was Down’s Syndrome. 
Due to the heart problems by Down’s Syndrome, the baby couldn’t suck the breast. After that, the process of surgery and treatment was continued, which was really tough for the baby to endure. 

He’s never received art education.
Hyeonwoo quickly learnt Hangeul good enough to read signs outside car window. Thus, he liked reading books. Although he had a lot to say in his head, it was difficult for him to express them. He always read books in a smile while sitting quietly without words. 
During class hours, he scribbled something on his notebook. Even though he couldn’t fully understand the lesson content, he showed amazing concentration whenever scribbling something on his notebook. Hyeonwoo’s favorite time is the moment to draw something. 
In high school, he liked math class the most. Admiring that the mathematical formulas filling the whole blackboard were beautiful, he drew the formulas just like scribbling on the notebook. 
When the graduation came close, his mother started feeling anxious. It was realized that students with developmental disabilities had no place to go after graduating from high school. Thus, she went to an art academy in neighborhood because she thought she should send Hyeonwoo to the art academy after his teacher’s advice to teach art to him. But the art academy harshly rejected Hyeonwoo by saying ‘This is a preparatory school, so Hyeonwoo doesn’t belong to here’. 
After that, she visited Raw Side. In the consultation, she heard ‘Raw Side is not a place for teaching something in formal education, but a place where people who want to freely express get together’, which was perfect for Hyeonwoo’s tendency. 

Birth as a pixel painter 

Hyeonwoo became 20 years old. Even though he was pretty weak, he was grown to a healthy young man compared to his childhood when he spent most time in the hospital. One day, Raw Side proposed a private exhibition, so Hyeonwoo held his first private exhibition in the gallery of Seoul Northern Municipal Hospital in 2015. In 2021, he had an exhibition in Shinhan Gallery as big as 100 pyeong. A private exhibition ‘Pixel: Infinite Space’ including all his works such as pixel and math drawing for five years was held. The media paid attention to Hyeonwoo’s works. The unique method of pixel looked fresh. 

His pixel is expanding.

Having the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada in 2023, the exchanges between both countries are vitalized. Hyeonwoo who has mediated Korea and Canada through arts like continuous participation in exhibition activities, presentation at conference, and residency program in Canada from 2019, was appointed as a honorary arts ambassador for celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between both countries in 2023.

Artist Kim Hyeonwoo already made an exhibition plan till 2029. He is still taking notes. It is to write down the memories of creative energy that is endlessly bursting out of his brain. No one knows what kind of images would be expressed on the canvas in the future. We should just watch and wait until his talent is fully revealed. In this way, Kim Hyeonwoo can expand to a big artist. 

Kim Hyeonwoo
15 times of private exhibitions 
Group exhibition for the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Korea and Canada in 2023, Canada & many others 
Works kept:

‘Percy Jackson Math Drawing’ kept by the Presidential Office in Yongsan
‘Sea Sand Math Drawing’ and ‘Math Drawing Under the Sea’ kept by the Inter-university Semiconductor Research Center, Seoul National University