Lady Kyunghyang | Korean Painting Can Get ‘Hot’ — Artist Kim Hyun Jung of the ‘Naesoong Series’

Korean Painting Can Get 'Hot'

Artist Kim Hyun Jung of the 'Naesoong Series'

"With Korean ink, the more you apply it, the clearer and deeper the color becomes. Isn't that truly mysterious?"

This past June, artist Kim Hyun Jung held a solo exhibition of her 'Naesoong Series' at the Seoul Arts Center. Her work was Korean painting — a genre even art lovers reportedly don't favor much — and figure painting on top of that. Even so, the works sold like hotcakes and ultimately achieved the feat of a complete sell-out. The artist is 25 years old. Let's take a closer look at the witty, playful world of her work, poised to draw a new line in Korean painting.

[Photo caption] ▲ You Who Move Me A work inspired by her own experience of calling a moving-service worker every time she has to transport her pieces. It carries the freshness of a rookie artist.

[Photo caption] ▲ One O'Clock in the Morning A work purchased by a thirty-something office worker who deeply related to it after seeing it while working late into the night. Connecting with strangers through her work is always interesting.

[Photo caption] ▲ The Tail Wagging the Dog A work that film actor Kim Soo-ro expressed interest in purchasing. It pokes fun at how, these days, the "owner" ends up serving the pet.

The Materialistic Girl in the Painting Is Me!

There is both beauty and wit in the paintings of artist Kim Hyun Jung (25). A pretty young woman in hanbok scoops instant noodles straight from an aluminum pot lid, or listlessly picks at french fries. Her skirt flying, she rides a snowboard or roller-blades with delight. Her skirt is see-through, but she doesn't seem to mind. These are all part of the artist's Naesoong Series. The figure in the paintings, it turns out, is the artist herself. If painting pop art in the style of Oriental painting is one twist, then an artist with Western-looking features painting Korean painting is another charming twist.

"My 'Naesoong Series' originally began with the intent to caricature people whose outside and inside differ. But one day, looking in the studio mirror, I discovered the same irony in myself. I realized that the very traits I wanted to caricature also existed in me. As the saying goes, the qualities we dislike in others are, in the end, qualities we ourselves possess."

When absorbed in her work, the hamburgers and instant noodles that appear in her paintings are literally her staple diet. It takes a full month of painting ten hours a day to complete a single work. Her Korean paintings take even more effort, since she adds collage to the traditional technique.

"When I conceive a work, I first put on leggings and take photos. Based on those, I sketch the nude figure. Then I take photos again in hanbok and sketch once more. To capture the rustling texture of hanbok, I dress the figure using a collage of hanji. I even dye the hanji myself. And in between, I have to go through the mounting process (layering several sheets of paper together so the work doesn't warp)."

The reason she lets the woman's nude form show through beneath the skirt is to express the secretive sense that, however elegantly one is dressed in hanbok, you never know what might be happening underneath.

"These days I still sleep only about four hours a day. I currently work as a part-time instructor at Anyang Arts High School, I'm in the middle of my graduate master's program, and I also serve as a teaching assistant for my department head. There's never enough time to devote fully to my work. Even in my sleep, I sometimes jolt awake thinking about exhibition preparations. Naturally, I've ended up eating just one meal a day, fighting through it (laughs)."

Even so, the artist is happiest when she's painting. She never imagined she'd actually 'sell' her work, since Korean painting simply isn't very popular.

"Honestly, tutoring students for college entrance exams pays better than making art. I told myself, 'Since it's not going to sell anyway, I might as well paint what I love,' and worked while enjoying myself."

As the saying goes, 'genius cannot beat effort, and effort cannot beat enjoyment.' That's likely why the delight in her work comes through so fully to viewers.

Turning Even Malicious Comments Into Ideas for Her Art

She began learning to paint in earnest in third grade, simply because she followed her older sister, who drew.

"As a child, I was a total 'copy my sister' type. Naturally, through art, I went on to a middle school and high school for the arts. In my first year of high school, I learned Oriental painting, and it was truly a new world to me. I fell for the transparent, pale tones of ink. The more you apply Korean ink, the clearer and deeper the color becomes. Isn't that truly mysterious?"

Kim Hyun Jung's work can commonly be seen online. Even on the blog she runs herself, all of her works are introduced. Most artists are reluctant to post their work online due to concerns about reproduction and copyright.

"It's a shame that, apart from exhibitions, artists have no space to communicate with the public. I've never thought my work was so original that it needed to be kept tightly hidden away. It's probably a subject anyone could paint at some point. I think Korean painting needs more communication."

Though still young, the artist has stood directly before the public and gained popularity and renown. Having made everything public, she has also had to endure jealous and envious gazes.

"It would be a lie to say there's no envy directed at me. Those gazes make me shrink back, but they're also new ideas for me. For example, if someone leaves a malicious comment on my work, I can capture even that act as a form of 'Naesoong' and turn it into a piece. It hurt a great deal before I could get to this mindset, but I've been training my heart, thinking of it as a rare experience."

On the other hand, there are people who encountered her work by chance and traveled from the provinces just to see it in person, or an office worker who, after seeing a work titled 'One O'Clock in the Morning' while working overtime until 1am, purchased it with savings after much deliberation — having people who love and recognize her work must be an artist's strongest source of motivation. The universal empathy her work evokes has resonated abroad as well as at home. This year alone, she has had three opportunities to introduce her work through overseas exhibitions.

"This year I had the chance to introduce my work in the US, Hong Kong, and Germany. It was a wonderful experience to see the diverse art and exhibition cultures of different parts of the world. In particular, I found that concepts and elements that are everyday and familiar to us can become uniquely charming and novel to them. Everyone found my work curious and enjoyed viewing it."

She glimpsed the possibility that Korean painting could resonate globally as well. She has also come to dream of developing subjects and techniques that could earn even greater empathy from foreign audiences, and someday holding a solo exhibition abroad.

[Photo caption] ▲ The artist re-enacts her work 'Oops (我差)' herself.

[Profile] Artist Kim Hyun Jung

She graduated with a degree in Oriental Painting from Seoul National University's College of Fine Arts and is currently in the master's program at the same university. She has introduced her work through three domestic solo exhibitions and numerous overseas group exhibitions, including in the US, Hong Kong, and Germany. Through active communication via social media and her blog, she has led efforts to popularize Oriental and Korean painting. Her awards include the Gold Prize in the Korean Painting category at the 12th Korea Women's Art Grand Exhibition and the Grand Prize in the Korean Painting category at the 14th World Peace Grand Art Exhibition.

The Secret Behind the 'Complete Sell-Out'

Artist Kim minored in business administration in college. She studied with the single-minded goal of breaking open the stalled market for Oriental painting. Artists tend to be financially unsavvy, but her mind is just as sharp and deft as her brushwork.

"Since turning twenty, I didn't want to keep asking my parents for money, so I worked part-time jobs. From handing out flyers to working at online shopping malls to tutoring for entrance exams, there's hardly a job I haven't done. Thanks to that, I covered my own allowance. I also earned a merit scholarship every semester. By graduation, I'd even bought my parents a massage chair with money I'd saved up (laughs)."

Her 'economic mindset' also played a role behind the scenes of her 'complete sell-out.' Everything sold, she says, because she priced her works far lower than the going rate.

"People seem to have the perception that there's a lot of bubble in art prices. Of course, there's also a culture of treating a painting's price as a reflection of the artist's own standing. So I decided, 'I'll be the one to start cutting prices,' and brought them down to nearly minimum-wage levels. Right now I'm selling at around 30,000 to 50,000 won per ho (a standard Korean canvas-size unit). Really cheap, right? More than profit, what makes me truly happy is knowing my work is hanging somewhere and being enjoyed."

Even setting aside the artist's own labor costs, the price barely covers the cost of framing. Of course, the artist hints that prices could rise as the years go by — naturally, guided by an 'invisible hand.'

"Most people probably think of landscape paintings or the Four Gracious Plants when they hear 'Oriental painting.' These days, the boundary between Oriental and Western painting has become so blurred that all kinds of experimentation is taking place. One thing is clear: many artists in Korea are devoting themselves to creating Korean paintings that carry our country's distinctive sensibility."

The artist has one wish. She hopes Korea's art market will diversify so that more people can enjoy works of art. A great work isn't only one priced at a billion or two billion won. A country can only truly call itself a cultural powerhouse when people can buy works that suit their taste at an affordable cost and enjoy them fully.

"I'm truly happy, because I get to continue exhibiting while I study. I'd like to maintain this kind of life for a while longer. And if the opportunity arises, I'd like to try expressing my 'Naesoong' through installation art. If I make something people can actually see and touch, wouldn't they be able to embrace the reality of 'Naesoong' more closely? For instance, installing pieces like 'Oops' or 'Moderation' — a hanbok-clad woman absorbed in shopping — at a department store entrance, or setting up 'The Tail Wagging the Dog,' depicting a pet and owner with their roles reversed, in front of an animal hospital. Sounds fun, doesn't it? (laughs)"

The mind of this 25-year-old overflows with endless ideas. Her playful imagination, which takes the sensibility we once regarded as a virtue — hiding one's true self and pretending otherwise — and expresses it through hanbok, twisting it all into the single word 'Naesoong,' is truly witty. Her brushwork, poised to draw a new line in Korean painting, is anything but ordinary.

Written by reporter Lee Yoo-jin Photography Kim Young-gil Costume sponsored by Park Sul-nyeo Hanbok (02-511-0617) Hair & Makeup Ji-hyun, Lee Bo-young (S&S NUOVO, 02-515-8123)

Lady Kyunghyang, August 2013 issue, pp.416-419