Sunkyung Baek, Artist: Flooded Rooms in Oil

Sunkyung Baek hanging a small painting on her studio wall, surrounded by large paintings of flooded rooms and objects — Sunkyung Baek in her studio. Courtesy the artist. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration.

Last updated: 28 October 2026

Sunkyung Baek is the Korean, London-based artist who paints homes, rooms and cars slowly filling with water. Here you will find our take on her work, where Sunkyung Baek has shown recently, how to buy her paintings, and her small oil in this year’s War Child auction.

Our take on Sunkyung Baek

Baek paints ordinary places where water has crept in: living rooms, beds, car interiors. The point is not disaster but slow seepage. “Rather than depicting dramatic catastrophe, I focus on slow processes of accumulation and infiltration,” she writes in her artist statement. For her, the flood is a metaphor for the sheer volume of information and change in modern life.

Her War Child piece, Rain at the Threshold, is oil on a small wood panel. It shows an empty room in soft pinks and lilacs. A white door with two glass panes stands open onto a pale blue space, while a ceiling fan hangs blurred at the top. Meanwhile, the floor shines like wet tiles and reflects the light from the doorway. Nothing dramatic happens, yet the room feels damp and slightly wrong.

She is right at the start of her career. In fact, she finished her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art this year and won the People’s Choice Award at the 2026 Jackson’s Art Prize. She describes wanting to catch the moment “like water seeping through the gap of a door”, and this panel does exactly that, so it is an early chance to own her work.

Sunkyung Baek: the essentials

Born in Seoul, South Korea, in 2000; lives and works in London, according to her own site.
BFA in Painting from Hongik University, Seoul (2024).
MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London (2026).
Won the People’s Choice Award at the Jackson’s Art Prize 2026. The finalists were chosen from 16,280 entries from 110 countries, according to Bankside Gallery.
Group shows in 2026 include Tang Contemporary Art in Beijing, Copeland Gallery and LBF Contemporary in London.
Works mainly in oil, on canvas and on wood panel.

Where to see Sunkyung Baek now

Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Rain at the Threshold (2026), oil on wood panel, 21 x 15 cm (8.3 x 5.9 in), lot page.
The Landscape of Infiltration (group), Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, 17 July to 5 September 2026.
Jackson’s Art Prize 2026 (finalists’ show), Bankside Gallery, London, 23 to 28 June 2026.

How to buy a Sunkyung Baek painting

There are no Sunkyung Baek prints, editions or books on sale, and she does not list a gallery. For now, the options are:

Rain at the Threshold, 2026: a small oil on wood panel in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
Paintings: enquire through the contact details on her website.

Sunkyung Baek FAQs

Where is Sunkyung Baek from?

She was born in Seoul in 2000 and is now based in London, where she studied for her MA at the Royal College of Art.

What does Sunkyung Baek paint?

Familiar spaces, such as rooms, beds and car interiors, slowly filling with or marked by water. She uses flooding as a metaphor for instability in modern life.

Can I buy a Sunkyung Baek print?

Not at the moment. There are no prints or editions, so the War Child auction lot is the easiest way to buy her work.

Where can I see her work in London?

Her War Child piece, Rain at the Threshold, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.

Sunkyung Baek