미술시대 ACE ART | Cheerful Charm: A Glimpse of Fandom in Korean Painting

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS ARTIST_KIM HYUN-JUNG

KIM HYUN-JUNG

2012 Graduated from undergraduate school in Oriental Painting, Seoul National University (Seoul, Korea), 2015 Graduated from graduate school in Oriental Painting, Seoul National University (Seoul, Korea) / Solo Exhibitions 6 times : Seoul, Busan (2013 ~ 2015) / Major International Exhibition (2014) / The 2nd SINGAPORE BANK ART FAIR 2014 (Singapore, 2013) / Im Zickzack durch die Welt, Kunstraum Neuruppin (Neuruppin, Germany) / ZigZag, State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart (Stuttgart, Germany) / Bank Art Fair (Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong) / Square, Space Womb (New York, USA) / Major Domestic Exhibition (2014) / Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, 'Show me the Money' Group Exhibition, Ganainsa Center (Seoul, Korea) / SNU Graduates of graduation exhibition, MOA (Seoul, Korea) / 'Hidden Card', Kidari Gallery (Daegu, Korea) / 6th SHA-SHA Sun Hwa Arts High School alumni exhibition (Seoul, Korea) / G-LOVE GIL Ministry exhibition, LIG ART SPACE (Seoul, Korea) etc. / AWARDS & HONORS : 2014 The 34th Artist Award to pay attention this year, The Korean Council for artist review, 2014 Grand prize in People worthy of their difference Jtbc etc.

KIM HYUN-JUNG

"Cheerful Charm: A Glimpse of Fandom in Korean Painting"

- Sun Seung-hye / Ph.D.Art History_Head of Curatorial Affairs, Seoul Museum of Art

Adjunct Professor, Ewha Womans University

The Fever of Pop in Korean Portrait Painting Message: Korean Pop Painting: "Uplifting myself"

Indulge in a new type of Korean painting! The era of high-toned landscape painting and boring figure painting is over. "Let people indulge in hangukhwa (Korean Pop Painting)." Artist Kim, Hyun-Jung is adored as an 'idol' of hangukhwa, just like Girls' Generation, a Korean girl group. Artist Kim draws me daringly. Although the painting shows a pretty girl, the artist says the girl is spunky and rather 'pretentious.' Let's develop "Korean Pop Painting" through Kim Hyun-Jung! Her works are joyful; they always make me smile. It also applies to her work entitled <Pretense: Uplifting myself> (2014), where she tries to pull herself together while looking at her cute self-portrait. The uplifting energy is highly contagious. Although the artist calls it 'pretense,' it seems more like 'self-affirmative' energy to others. Whereas the portrait painters of East Asia tried to show the spirit of a person in their portraits, she uses the provocative word 'pretense' for her own works. Her rebellious attitude against the tradition feels refreshing. While stagnant traditions seem like fossils, changing traditions seem like living creatures.

Feign Heritage of the Mind

110x180cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2013

The 'pretentious' girl is dressed in hanbok. It is the transformation of 'Portrait of a Beauty' by Shin, Yun-Bok as the 21st century version. The icon dressed in hanbok is not an exclusive image of anyone; it can belong to any artist, depending on how they portrayed it in their own way. While the beauties in the paintings of Shin, Yun-Bok enjoyed outings and bathing, the 'pretentious' girl enjoys eating ramen and exercising. Although she looks like an elegant woman who might enjoy having dinner with expensive food, she enjoys eating ramen on a box. Also, she exercises through equipment installed in her neighborhood and calls it 'pretentious' Olympics. As a result, the artist attracts lots of married women who don't care about what others think or say about them. In a nutshell, she established her own way of creating paintings by slightly steering away from the nobility of traditional figure paintings, with her 'Pretense' series. Following the <Pretense> series, she exudes feminine charm through billiards and golf, two male-dominated sports, in her <Vanity> series in a subtle way. It is a transition from 'pretense' to bluff and desires seeking unreasonable lifestyle beyond one's means. It remains to be seen how the 'pretentious' girl will change.

▲ Oops

145x117cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2012

▼ Oops

160x110cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2013

▲ Feign You Move Me

130x196cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2013

▼ Feign You Move Me

195x288cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2013

Charm: "Subtle Translucence"

The 'pretentious' girl is cute, sensuous, and daring. The spunky charm of the cute girl can catch anyone's eye. How? There are basically three elements in her charm: 'face'; 'body'; 'clothes.' All of them are basic elements most valued in the tradition of East Asian figure paintings. How does the artist Kim, Hyun-Jung change the tradition of figure paintings? The women in her works are very pretty. Impression towards beautiful women is timeless: they please one's eye. There is no question about it. When people see a beautiful woman, they want to see her again and again. Men react to a pretty face by instinct and women react to it with a sense of competition.

Swag or Die

Get Set Ready !

112x173cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2014

When viewers learn that the artist Kim is a beautiful woman, they get more attracted to her 'Portrait of a Beauty,' considering it as her self-portrait. A self-portrait created by a beautiful woman is extremely rare. It is a portrait that cannot be created by anyone else. The artist electrifies her fans, like a pop idol star. Her body can easily attract viewers. The contour of her body is seen between the pieces of hanbok; the clothes were painted on top of the contour created with thin lines. It is a joyful process that feels like putting clothes on a paper doll. The light colors of her body reminds viewers of light peach skin. The contour of her body is slightly seen. Although such beauty can be a delight to the eye of viewers, it can be identified as the life light of youth. The clothes can inspire viewers to explore hanbok. I want to copy the slightly-revealing skirt in pale Indian ink, the upper garment with various colors, and the rubber shoes with high heels. In fact, hanbok can make me stand out whenever I have a pretentious attitude towards my looks, beyond special occasions such as national holidays, wedding, and family events like the 60th birthday party. In particular, the artist did a very good job of describing the skirt in pale Indian ink, making it transparent like dragonfly wings. The technique sets the artist Kim apart from other artists when it comes to drawing hanbok. The technique of making the skirt half-transparent is the same as the one for buddhist paintings during the Koryo Dynasty. Unlike Chinese and Japanese buddhist paintings, the monk in 'Yangryu Avalokitesvara' created during the Koryo Dynasty is wearing a translucent robe that reveals his flesh. As a result, the painting feels not only sacred and religious, but also elegant and seductive.

Swag or Die

Naive Lady

112x134cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2014

Artist Kim accurately understood and applied the technique of Koryo Dynasty's buddhist paintings expressing translucence by drawing a robe with white outlines. Her new work created in 2014 features bodily movements and lines created with more confident approach. While the contours in her previous works in 2013 were not as strong, her 2014 works showcase more upbeat, greater internal strength. It reflects her extensive efforts that are equivalent to her popularity and her wisdom based on the popularity. It has made the 'pretentious girl' develop more self-confidence. She is no longer insecure and portrays me as a more self-confident person. That's why I like artist Kim Hyun-Jung.

Feign Planned Coincidence

129x153cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2014

Popularizing: Twenty-seven. Your support will be appreciated

The greatest achievement of artist Kim was popularizing Korean paintings, as she has brought them to SNS websites. Just like <Good job, as usual>(2014), she has consistently posted paintings at SNS as if it was her daily exercise and replied to comments. As lots of people are eager to communicate with the artist, the popularity of Korean paintings has soared. Her painting entitled <Acha>(2013), where a girl is looking at Louis Vuitton bags and Starbucks cups, while eating ramen boiled in an aluminum pot and served on the lid was sensational at SNS. The painting was shared by numerous viewers who related to the girl right away.

The 'Pretense' series of artist Kim Hyun-Jung has garnered tremendous attention from the public via SNS, forming her own Korean painting fan club. It has inspired the viewers to buy paintings for the first time and go to her lectures and exhibitions - although they are not really fans of Korean paintings. The sensation even created a Korean painting fan club in 2014 with members in their 30s and 40s, including myself. Unlike my assumption that she might be a sassy, good-looking Korean painter, given the title 'Pretense,' she was actually a hard-working, down-to-earth artist who embraced new challenges and tasks, while archiving all her works. She is now only 27. I admire her courage to create figure paintings that seem more like self-portraits. Her daring attitude of using the word pretense is fascinating. Her concept of using the daily lives of women seems even more fresh and joyful. Your support will be appreciated. a:a

KIM HYUN-JUNG

2014 Feign Olympic,

The Intense Record of Growth

- Artist Note

Feign Flutter

67.5x60cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2013

Growth first begins to appear as a change that brings more various and delicate colors and scents of life. The events that are encountered for the first time in life can be baffling at first, but fortunately these new experiences that we think we failed to make the best out of teach us new senses of a different world. The paradox that when we thought we have stepped back, we have actually taken two steps forward, always comes to realization belated, and the fact that we realize this progress belated alone is also a paradox. At the phase of my life when I was 26 turning 27, I experienced a great leap that almost felt imposing. It was not an easy year. After the year went by, at the end of enduring the great and unexpected changes in life, I slowly began to realize that I found more colors and scents of life that I can sense and appreciate.

On one of the deep autumn days, I became at awe of the color of the sky and went for a stroll in the Geun-lin Park near my studio. The outdoor gym of Geun-lin Park was high with spirit. People in different outfits and of various looks were working out very hard. The people freely expressed their emotions as they work out, which got me ponder about different paths in life. And the various auras I could found in each person gave me a colorful festive experience along with the fresh air, blue sky and the beautiful colors of leaves on the trees. This splendid moment was the beginning of Feign Olympics series.

Exercise brings out the colors of life that we have overlooked or ignored and displays them in front of our eyes. The exercises that are similar to familiar games we often play can let us pour out small pieces of the wonderful emotions we hold inside such as passion, tenacity, joy, touching feelings, fury and despair. This can be compared to prism, which separates white light into various colors mixed in it. The Olympic symbols that represent the world also reflect various colors of life. Olympics represent variety of life. Feign Olympics surpasses the sport festival and present a festivity of various colors and scents revealed by sports.

The awareness of the tension between self and the surrounding world and the search for the true self that have been carried out can still be found in Feign Olympics. A tug of war game between the world and me is still ongoing. Amid the tension that occasionally grows looser or tenser, I tried to hold my ground and confront the world with all my might. I could get hurt from time to time, but I pulled myself back up everytime and continued the journey of life. And I believe they have given me another step forward. Raising the red card up high towards the suppressing forces in life is a manifestation of independence, and the girl shouting out 'victory is mine!' is a portrait of stronger self. My works can be described as diaries that record many emotions that filled me throughout the past year. The emotions came as complex layers of fear and anxiety about life and unexpected joy and happiness in between, which I captured onto a dense and colorful surface, and now I confess with the metaphor of feign.

Feign 1:00 AM

50x50cm

Painting with Korea traditional ink, color and collage on Traditional Asian paper

2012

Making artworks and writing artist notes help me reflect on myself and clarify what has been obscure. My past year has been fierce, and in the process, I found my thoughts and beliefs growing stronger. Though I am still trying to stay balanced, I feel the progress. I hereby present you the result of my intense struggle for growth from the past year, Feign Olympics. a:a