Ena Sungwon Byun (b. 1996) is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She received a BFA in Painting from Seoul National University and is currently an MFA candidate in Studio Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ena’s practice centers on the body as a mediated and unstable site shaped by medical imaging, biological systems, and ecological frameworks. Drawing from personal and archival research, she focuses on moments when scientific and medical images promise clarity yet instead produce ambiguity, opacity, and speculative forms. Recurring interests in hybridity, reproduction, and nonhuman agency shape her engagement with organic processes and living materials, alongside sculptural structures and spatial installations.
CV
Education
2025-2027 (expected)
MFA in Studio Art
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
2021
BFA in Painting
Seoul National University, South Korea
Fellowships & Awards
2026 (forthcoming)
Rare Book Fellow
Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2025
Pauline Phillips Award
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2021
Summa Cum Laude; Seoul National University Alumni Association President’s Award
Seoul National University, South Korea
2020
SNU Development Fund Scholarship
Seoul National University
2019
Florence Derieux Award (Student Category)
Art Olympia, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Japan
2018
Kwanak Corporation Scholarship
Seoul National University
2017–2018
Eminence Scholarship
Seoul National University
2016–2019
Merit-Based Scholarship
Seoul National University
Exhibitions
2025
Soil That Swallowed a Star
Three-person exhibition, Dasigreem Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2020
BFA Graduation Exhibition
Woosuk Gallery, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
2019
Art Olympia 2019
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Teaching Experience
2025
Teaching Assistant, ARTS 413: Advanced Ceramic Projects
Professor: Yun-dong Nam
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2025
Graduate Assistant
Hanes Visiting Artist Lecture Program
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2024
Art Educator & Curriculum Developer
Sanxoro Art Studio, Seongnam, South Korea
2015–2022
Fine Arts Instructor
Yoo Atelier Art Academy, Seoul, South Korea