“The size scope of Athena Kim’s Blue Space Nebula art was what first caught my attention. We’re excited by anyone who is inspired enough about space to create pieces of art that are intended to inspire others to explore their creative side and get interested in exploration. Kim’s work appears to please both the discerning artistic eye and capture the imagination of people about their future in space.”

-Bob Jacobs, Deputy Associate Administrator/Communications NASA

“I was drawn to the bright, contrasty colours and the depth they create together, almost like looking through the trees into the forest behind, or through the reflections into the pool beneath. Different shapes emerge when you look at it from different viewpoints. I love the metallic touches in it.”

- Sarah Hingston, Design Consultant

“Athena Kim’s painting, Dante’s Pirouette invokes a ballet, spanning the planes of heaven, earth and hell. Above and below. Her work is powerful and stunning!”

-Larry Braitman, Investor

“I love her paintings in Blue Space Nebula series! These paintings touch me very much as they raise my awareness of the unlimited vastness and wonder of the universe, which takes me away from my "every day problems". Getting lost in her paintings is for me like taking a very relaxing but at the same time fascinating vacation, it calms and it inspires my mind. Thank you for your art, Art!”

-Volkmar Weissig, Ph.D. Professor at Midwestern University

"In her art, Athena Kim transmutes universal human emotions—joy, pleasure, anger, despair, love, lust, envy, contentment—into vibrant colors and tactile textures. Her Blue Space Nebula series evokes the depth of the ocean with prickly, thickly-painted technique; like the ocean itself, these paintings look serene from a distance but can be menacing up close. Her layered compositions move the body before the mind, like the sun being obscured by the clouds, or coming out from behind them to warm your skin."

-Brian Robinson, Director of Analytics/Media Partnership Facebook

“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F#$% series is an explicit attempt by the artist to peel away some of her protective defenses by letting the canvas breathe with white open spaces, possibly at the risk of being exposed to new emotional pain. The result is a semi-organized turbulence of lines and shapes in the style of classic Abstract Expressionism. But again, such an explanation does not do justice to the work. Its immediate effect on me was that of a three dimensional rotating cylinder jumping entirely off the white canvas into space, like nothing I had quite ever experienced before. I would actually describe it not simply as a form suspended in space, but as a space-time in itself built according to the rules of some yet to be invented non-linear mathematics.

- Elliot P, CEO

"Terroir is a term that is strongly associated with wine, though I appreciate the definition in loose terms. In this light, I think that Kim has had a unique journey and it manifests in her work. Her past is marked by seasons of trauma and tribulation, through which her spirit of resilience - the life force to overcome - has been honed and refined. This force, in my view, is the energy by which she renders her art. This particular piece, Terroir is refreshing, yet "aged" with its depth and layers, which speaks to her and her art "thriving" in the Terroir at present."

— Kimberly Buxton, Artist/Activist

“I love the depth and variety of different feelings and emotions that Athena’s work invokes. There are many that I connect with, but when I saw The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F#$% 2-2, it particularly jumped out. I love the thick bright colors against the bright white background of the canvas. Athena's pieces all contain so much emotion, I feel like I get different stories, maybe different moments from her life, from the different styles. I was particularly enjoying her Blue Space Nebula pieces, the depth and heavy, brooding feeling of them. It was a surprise to me when I saw these lighter pieces and initially I was drawn the ones with the similar blue-black pallet, but then I found these lighter, more colorful ones, they have optimism and energy that I love. It hangs on my wall now, a little reminder of Athena’s own optimism, that makes me smile when I see it.

-Tom Broxton, UX design manager Google

“Most viewers spontaneously experience Kim’s large, colorful canvases as profoundly joyful and meditative. For instance it is hard not to recognize the signature Blue Space Nebula series, with its seemingly never ending layers of magnificent blues, as a voyage into deep space. Moving closer, thick waves of vinyl paint appear: now we feel engulfed by something like a vast ocean. However our trip is not over. Unlike almost any other works of modern art which demand a safe physical distance, the Blue Space Nebula series can be experienced eyes closed, by touch only, hands caressing their infinitely varied vinyl asperities as if entering a different dimension. Step back again and these sensory inputs seem to merge in our brain, perhaps approaching what neurophysiologists call “synthesia”, an integration of the senses where for instance a sound can be experienced as a color, or as in this case, color can be experienced as touch or inner movement.

-Thor Connelly, Investor