BIO
I was born in Seoul, Korea. I completed my M.F.A. at the Pratt Institute in 1998. My work has been exhibited at the Korea Culture Center, John Jay University, The Work Space, Artist Space, Exit Art, New York, Milan, and in various venues in Korea. Various paintings have been reviewed in Huffington Post, NY Arts Magazine, Art in Culture, and Symposium on Korean Contemporary Art.
ARTIST STATEMENT
One day, in my atelier, I came across some webs sparkling under the sunlight. They were spider webs that I disposed of a few days before, without much thought. The small spider did not utter a word of discontent, and was diligently building new webs, to fulfill his purpose in life. It was as if the spider was trying to tell me with its movements that however small a creature is, it can still dream. Eventually, the small kingdom that the spider built looked splendidly beautiful. It was a moment of awakening that demonstrated to me that even the smallest creatures have their own purpose of existence.
I hope my work can show that such small organisms around us that can be easily dismissed still harbors life inside them, and that such creatures cherish small dreams that only they can dream. In addition to portraying the fact that the mere existence of life has value, I tried to carve into my works all I have experienced and all the environments that I have been in, to convey my emotions thoroughly.
When I see small plants, I tend to gain some sort of attachment to them, because they remind me of my life, where I tried to survive in a culture with a completely different racial and linguistic makeup from where I am originally from. It is like grafting, where a small branch attaches itself to a big tree through a painful process called life, and reconnects the water and nutrient sources to survive, and eventually blossoms into flowers and fruits.
Such understanding of life naturally soaked into my work. My previous and early works used bold and vivid colors and materials, as if the subjects were trying to get away from the struggle of pain. I used anthropomorphic elements to strongly and loudly portray humans who have to hide their inner weakness and frailty to survive within the molds of competitive contemporary society. However, my current works focus on a static portrayal and a calm gaze onto the beautiful environment made by the creator in which we - minute organisms – live on with the warmth of life.
Only when we accumulate the memories of the warmth of life present in all the insignificant landscapes, tree roots, and the small plants we pass by, another reason for existence is created. This is the process through which I paint, and how I harbor the love of the arts. This is why I do art.