Kim Sunwoo, or “dodo_seeker”, as he is known online, uses gouache on canvas to bring extinct birds back to life – more specifically, to bring dodos into a whimsical and wonderful world. Kim, born in 1988, graduated from Dongguk University in 2015 with a degree in fine arts and began showcasing his work both in public and in prominent art galleries. The artist’s unique, smooth style, combined with his humorous approach to art, has gained him a small yet devoted following. The delight of fans is easier to understand when looking deeper into the man and the meaning behind the dodo.

Kim Sunwoo’s dodos are vastly different from the real extinct birds many people are familiar with. Instead of wandering around forests awaiting extinction, Kim’s dodo birds live life to the fullest. The vibrant colors of the paintings add spirit and playfulness to the scenes depicting the dodos celebrating a birthday, flying a plane, floating in the ocean, and more. The characters in Kim’s art partake in any fun or nonsensical activity imaginable, and the result is heart-warming. In an art world so dominated by contemporary, radical, and cutting-edge innovations, the simple yet masterful skill of creating art that feels like home seems underrated. Visitors to Kim’s exhibitions may find themselves fascinated and delighted by the paintings, despite their apparent simplicity.

On the contrary, Kim Sunwoo does in fact have a message he tries to convey through his art. In an interview with Riveruns, Kim confessed that he was once jealous of birds and their ability to take flight and go anywhere. This was exacerbated by the fact he kept encountering people who once felt free, but now seemed trapped in modern society, and thus developed a kinship with the dodo, a species notorious for losing its ability to fly like other birds.

In his most recent exhibition, Atlas des rêves, meaning “atlas of dreams” in French, Kim showcased his works from his time in France. In this exhibition, Kim pulled away from his usual medium of gouache on canvas to focus on sketches and other small-format artworks that he made during his three-month stay in Paris this year. The exhibition lasted only from September 22 to 28, but clearly portrayed his evolution as an artist. Black-and-white sketches drawn on French novels invoking feelings of loneliness hung near a self-portrait of Kim painted on cardboard with two dodos planting a French flag in his hair.

Kim Sunwoo is a figure to watch and follow in the art world precisely because of what this exhibition showed visitors. He is a highly prolific artist, with a whimsical artistic eye, a masterful usage of color, and an overarching and consistent theme, all of which helped him land a recent collaboration with beer maker Terra. It is clear that Kim understands his strengths as an artist, and his work is accessible to anyone. Those who may not find interest in fine art will still be able to enjoy his cheerful work, while fine-art curators can seek the profound meaning he weaves throughout the paintings.

At the end of the day, Kim’s appeal comes down to the likability of his art. It would be difficult to find people who are disinterested in or unamused by his style, and the reason for that lies in Kim’s understanding of his subject. Dodo birds are so often mocked and made fun of, but Kim chooses to make them the heroes of his stories rather than belittling their existence. He encourages audiences to laugh with the birds, rather than at them, and this earnest attempt at achieving this is what makes his work, simply put, fun to look at.