KPETRO | Wanted to Meet You: Dreaming of Art Made Together, Beyond Communication

Dreaming of Art Made Together, Beyond Communication

There is someone who has brought a bold new wind into Oriental painting, once considered a realm of quiet, static art. She is Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, drawing attention for her 'Naesoong Series.' Her sparkling new style is a hot topic, but so is the way she's broken the fixed idea of the artist as some mysterious figure, actively reaching out to the public instead. What does the new artistic world of painter Kim Hyun Jung, who dreams of lively communication with the public, look like?

A Korean painter who loves social media; a Korean painting featuring a woman in hanbok riding a motorcycle and another eating ramyeon in a disheveled pose. It might sound like an unlikely combination, but this is the world of painter Kim Hyun Jung, loved by so many for her sparkling wit and playful artistic world.

"My work mainly depicts, with wit, a woman in hanbok living out an ordinary daily life. I started painting from an idea rooted in the elegance and secrecy that hanbok carries."

Kim Hyun Jung — a young woman who would probably prefer a miniskirt or jeans over hanbok in real life, yet who wears hanbok even in everyday situations, the thorough professional that she is, in order to portray her painted subject more perfectly. The theme she expresses is precisely 'naesoong.'

Since her 2013 solo exhibition on the theme of 'Naesoong Story,' every exhibition sold out completely, causing a stir, and subsequent shows — 'Naesoong Olympics,' 'Naesoong, Winter Story,' 'Naesoong Story' — all received an enthusiastic response. 'Naesoong Olympics' in particular drew as many as 24,000 visitors over ten days. Why did 'naesoong,' which points out the gap between outside and inside, become the keyword of Kim Hyun Jung's work?

"I wanted to paint people who wear the elegant, dignified clothing of hanbok yet behave in ways that don't match it. In fact, I use myself as the model to paint a woman's naesoong, but the naesoong I want to express has a broader meaning. Regardless of gender, everyone has a desire to look good to others. That's what I want to paint."

Breaking free of a confined self, and breaking the mold of Korean painting

Unlike traditional Korean painting, her working method is unique. She sketches from photographs in which she herself becomes the main character, then dresses the figure in clothing over that. The figure is then rendered in light color (damchae), objects in bold color (jinchae), and the clothing in ink-wash color or collage technique.

"You can catch a faint glimpse of the body's silhouette beneath the hanbok. It conveys the message that 'you can see right through a person,' while giving the viewer the chance to imagine what might be happening beneath the folds of the skirt."

Though she became the model herself, at first she didn't think of the figure in the painting as herself, since she was essentially overlaying someone else's persona. Then one day, through the mirror in her studio, she suddenly realized that the person captured on canvas was exactly the same person as herself — and that became an important turning point.

"I realized the figure in the painting resembled me not only in appearance but even in that awkward feeling of being conscious of others' gaze. So I thought that if I honestly revealed my own self, bound as it was by others' gaze, I could gradually become more confident in the face of that gaze."

That's how 'naesoong' gradually became confessional self-portraiture, and accepting her own image let her paint more comfortably. She began finding subject matter more actively in her own self and daily life. Her work 'All-Out Effort' actually captures herself hurriedly eating while working through meals, feeling like she might collapse. Picking up French fries with a straw was to avoid getting oil on her hands while working on a painting.

While she feels a sense of freedom herself as she paints, she also hopes her work can become an 'escape hatch' for her audience.

"I hope people first have a good big laugh looking at my paintings in this harsh world. Further, it would be wonderful if my work became an opportunity for the audience to reflect on themselves."

Communication with the audience as an opportunity to develop the work further

She's also known as a painter active on social media — 100,000 followers combined on Twitter and Instagram. She happened to realize the power of social media while holding her first exhibition, and began actively communicating from there. It's also a form of communication born from her regret, as someone who loves art, over the distance kept between art and the public.

"I thought it was a barrier that you could only see a painting by going to an exhibition. If people could see it every day, they might develop a preference and an attachment to it — I wondered if there was any way to solve that, and thought of social media."

As she reached her audience through social media, her work has recently been used in advertising, and she's actively taking on projects with companies. In an art world that values seniority and experience, she's also recognized for her contribution as "the idol of Korean painting," spreading Korean painting to the public.

An artist receiving a great deal of expectation from many people. Contrary to the assumption that an artist's daily life might be leisurely, she clocks in like an office worker, immersed in painting from 9 to 7. Amid that, the work of communicating with the public can't be put off either. Social media sometimes brings hurtful words, but she says it's also good to hear the raw feelings of her audience, and it's interesting to watch her work, once out of her hands, get reinterpreted.

"Bitter words strengthen me in their own way, and kind words strengthen me in theirs. I treat even harsh comments as unfiltered criticism, thinking, 'ah, there's a point there too,' and try to use it to improve myself. In short, the more I communicate with my audience, the more it steels my resolve to keep pushing forward on my path."

Dreaming of art anyone can enjoy without a burden

She believes painting, by nature, has no barrier to communication. Anyone can relate to it regardless of language, and a single image can clearly explain what would otherwise take a long verbal explanation to convey. Going beyond simply being a communicating artist, she wants to open up a new world she calls 'social drawing' — using social media so the public and the artist discuss a single piece of work together, and go on to complete it together.

"I'm conceiving this with the hope that art can become a culture anyone can enjoy. Nothing has started yet under the name 'social drawing,' but in a broad sense, I feel I'm already doing it. People suggest subject matter to me, and my work is sometimes reborn through unexpected interpretations."

Dreaming of art with no burden and no barrier, she is preparing another exhibition next March under the theme 'Naesoong Amusement Park.' Paintings that let the audience play with art as if they've come to an amusement park, and communicate joyfully with the artist. We look forward to the joyful world of art that painter Kim Hyun Jung will open up as she communicates with her audience.

Written by Yoo Hyun-kyung, photographed by Jang Byung-kook

Written by — Text: Yoo Hyeon-gyeong / Photo: Jang Byeong-guk