Korea not only boasts a huge entertainment sector, but also a bottomless pond of talented artists who – with various media – are sure to leave their mark on the world. With this segment we wanted to take a closer look at some of these artists who we’ve been following for a while or have just discovered. For the purpose of this feature we didn’t want to solely focus on the huge names like Nam June Paik or Park Seo-Bo.
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Kang Yeh-sine (Mixed Media)
Kang is a relatively new artist, having had her first exhibition in 2018 at Atelier Aki. She’s a mixed-media artist who is most known for her miniature bookcases. The sculptures have mini editions of actual books, which makes it even more fun to discover titles you’ve read before. Kang also puts oil on canvas for her paintings.
Lee Jee-Young (Mixed Media)
In her studio Lee creates wonderful, colourful worlds with physical media and then photographs herself in them. Her images are never digitally adjusted, as all her magic is purely within the physical world. She also creates installations for museums where the audience can transport themselves into these worlds.
Lee So Youn (Painting)
What may look like digital art work is actually a detailed painting. Lee creates a colorful world with her delicate brushstrokes. In her works she explores themes of alienation and feeling between two worlds as a South Korean immigrant in the US. Her paintings are inspired by manga and even introduce her pet cat Choco in them.
Ahn Seongmin (Mixed Media)
Ahn blends Eastern and Western techniques in her work. She holds master degrees from the US and from Korea and plays with the boundaries between the two cultures. On her website she mentions this about her work: “By addressing the connectedness of opposing elements, I bring attention to openness, seeking connection, balance, and coexistence.”
Koo Bohn-chang – Photography
Both a professor at Kyungil University of Photography & Video and an artist himself, Koo has been a prominent photography artist. The Seoulite has shown work all over the world. This year he even won the Grand Prize at the Seoul Culture Today Awards. One of our favorite series by him is ‘Revealed Personas’ from 2006 as pictured here.
Kim Yool – Mixed Media
This Seoul-based artist has a unique style. Her style has a distinct character and plays with themes of identity and the subconscious. Before her painting career she worked in cosmetology for a decade, explaining the eye for detail and her vibrant colors.
Song Hyun-Sook – Mixed Media
Song Hyun-Sook is a Korean-born artist, living in Germany. She moved in the seventies and has since created a body of work blending the two art styles together. Song paints with tempera, a type of paint made by mixing pigments with egg yolk. This technique was widely used in Western painting in the Middle Ages, because of the paint’s opaque character. Song, by contrast, uses tempera in a way that is almost transparent. Influenced by both Eastern philosophy and calligraphy, her work captures Song’s unique essence.
