Breath of the city


2020-2022

Just as various textures manifest in painting through the accumulation of paint and medium, I believe that 'space' also exhibits its unique 'texture' or 'essence' based on the accumulation of numerous elements inherent in human life.

In Korea, the relationship between space and human is an organic one, where neither holds dominance, and this relational characteristic naturally blends with the emotional essence of Korean life accumulated in history, creating a distinct essence. This essence, I believe, permeates every aspect of the process of Seoul's formation as a city and the life within it.

Based on these thoughts, 'Breath of the City' is a socially subjective landscape painting series that seeks to discover the 'emotional essence of Korean life' and the 'organic relationship between space and human' that permeates Seoul and embody it through the texture of painting. This work involves applying layers of paint to the canvas slowly and deliberately over time. It's a method devised to artistically manifest intangible elements into physical space through the concept of 'permeation.'

The thinly layered paint seeps into the previous layer, forming a solid stratum while ensuring that all textures are evenly distributed and uniformly absorbed. Through this process, the space within the canvas frame and the human become a single organism, breathing gently, and the holistic breath one feels when viewing the landscape is reinterpreted into the painterly texture and encapsulated on the canvas.


14–11–2023