The Hidden Path of Painting

 

 Kim Noam

 

The Surrounding

While becoming too sensuous, contemporary painting has also become too conceptual at the same time. Sophisticated paintings contain deep thoughts, delicate and sharp senses, and ambiguous but rich nuances. The worlds of infinite number of artists converge into painterly images despite cultural differences beyond all the eras and regions. People reflect on the individual and the world, body and mind, life and vision while looking at an image of a painting. The visual achievements of the artists invited to this planned exhibition are also within this flow of contemporary painting. The worlds of the three artists Lee Jaehoon, Min Sun, and Jeong Zikseong project completely different senses and perceptions. From them, we can see that they are full of various interpretations of what is painting and what is extended or derived from it. The intrinsic territory of painting and its surrounding, the world and the objects, the emotions and consciousness around it melt into one aesthetic horizon. We enter a world of new visual experiences by following the secretive path of painting. Painting is a separate entity from us. We exist outside it and hence, ontologically, our relationships are formed outside it. For a short while, we become incorporated into that world and sympathize with it. Painterly things and things around them represent the destiny of individuals and the world through things that are of painting.

It is impossible to rank the countless paintings in terms of originality and attractiveness. There is a clear limit to objectively evaluating the artists and their artistic merits. All artistic activities and phenomena lie on the same level of the aesthetic horizon, as the value of a work of art varies depending on the time, place, and audience. There are only two kinds of art - one that can be related to, and the other which gives a distant and unfamiliar feeling. Nonetheless, among numerous artists, those who remain faithful to themselves and show the depth of originality are at the center of our interest and empathy.

 

The Hidden Path of Painting

Looking at the spectacular landscape of contemporary art, one can clearly see the aesthetic reasons surrounding the practice of painting that is being presented. The abstract art formed in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, followed by Dada, surrealism, and conceptual art, followed by revolutionary changes and their public acceptance became the foundation of our current visual arts. Contemporary painters are making good use of this aesthetic legacy. Western art, which came through Europe and Japan in the early 20th century met Korean traditional art, which then collided and fused, ultimately creating art that expressed new thoughts and aesthetics. It was a time of repeated artistic challenges and reflections on our art. In our art culture, painting embodies the most Korean sense of beauty, view of life and world, in terms of both the quantity and quality. However, since we and art are not the world and reality itself, both realistic images and ideological images are largely based on dreamy thoughts. We can also well appreciate the creative and attractive dreamy sense and vision in the paintings of the artists.

Creation does not carry complete congruence with life, nor is it a competition where there are winners and losers. Art and life strike a balance with each other, assuring mutual growth. Through images of painting, we can briefly taste the experience of being free from the customs and restraints of the world. The painting is profound and comes from devotion. We experience the fierce senses and formative power of the artists along the numerous paths hidden behind the painting images.