David Young Kim

David Young Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, with a concurrent lecturer appointment at the University of Zurich. His academic trajectory includes a PhD from Harvard University and postdoctoral fellowships at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence (Max Planck Institute) and the Getty Connecting Art Histories program in São Paulo. Previously, he served as an assistant at the Chair of Modern Art History and as an Adjunct Professor at Simmons College.

Kim's research examines Renaissance art through interdisciplinary lenses, including:

• Art Geography and transnational cultural exchange
• Materiality and craftsmanship in Italian painting (1300-1550)
• Performativity of masks and objects
• Environmental perspectives in art criticism
• Lusophone transcultural dynamics

His publications focus on Renaissance aesthetics, sensory studies, and cross-cultural encounters, consistently exploring how mobility and geography shaped artistic theory. Recent works analyze mimesis, sensory perception in art, and colonial visual dialogues.

Kim has received significant honors, including:

• Fulbright Scholarship (2001-2002)
• Max Planck Postdoctoral Fellowship (2010-2011)
• Harvard Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2008-2009)
• Villa I Tatti Readership (2006)
• Habilitation Grant from University of Zurich (2012-2013)