Artwork · 2013
Kim Hyun Jung x Woori Card
- Title
- Kim Hyun Jung x Woori Card
- Size
- 직경 50
- Year
- 2013
- Work No.
- F-0154-1300-01-01
Even a good thing, taken too far, can become suffocating. Even beauty, in excess, can turn into fatigue. Too Much of a Good Thing began with a simple question: is more of a good thing always better? The artist filled the canvas with peonies, symbols of wealth and beauty, while the figure within covers her nose as if the fragrance has grown too strong. Just as a pleasant scent becomes unbearable in excess, beauty, desire, and passion can lose their original meaning once they overflow. She believes Korean painting is a ‘painting to be read’ — so what mattered more than the flower’s beauty was the story created by the encounter between the peonies and the figure’s gesture. This work also marked the beginning of an Art Nouveau–inspired series weaving flowers and figures into decorative lines and patterns. Too Much of a Good Thing later became the main card image for Woori Card’s Card Jeongseok series, meeting many more people in daily life beyond the museum walls — a work about excess that ironically became her most widely seen. Looking back, perhaps both desire and beauty matter less for how much one possesses than for knowing where to stop.
