2018 Curatorial Statement

 

Regarding Invisible Protection…

 

Lee Jung hee (Editor-in-chief, Yoo Art/private counselor)

 

 

The sun is scorching. Though the weather is such that, with sunrays so hot as to be stinging and high humidity, sweat pours out like rain even when you’re just standing still, at least the cityscape unfolding under the dark green shade of trees is decidedly the best. All life forms seem to be vibrant. Unable to withstand the strength of the blinding light, I immediately board a bus. The moment I slowly take in the scenery outside the window seated in a cool bus, strong light seems to enter my body and to dry completely dark and damp energy in every nook and cranny.

 

The blue sky and transparent, light green leaves. At a time when the clear colors of nature turn darkness and melancholy in the world into unreality, artist Lim Hyun Kyung’s latest works, breaking the deep silence and resembling summer hues, present themselves before us.

 

Swerving slightly from the restrained movement and solemn tones of earlier ones, these works can be seen as paintings that, in fact, further reflect examinations of themes linked to the artist’s worldview. The evaluation is that the artist has created a sophisticated style by adorning very Korean topics and traditional East Asian techniques with feminine sensitivity and contemporary sensibility.

The splendid apricot color of curtains created by mixing water into vermilion, resplendent chartreuse and violet trees, and the fountain in the center of the painting vigorously spewing forth streams of water represent an emotional and spiritual origin and respect and love for and joy of life.

Lim is an artist who, rather than insisting on her colors by raising her voice, prompts internal growth through harmony with the outside world. In her characteristically calm voice, she serenely depicts on fine silk the strong internal conflict and tension between maintaining the traditional spirit and endeavoring not to lose her own disposition.

To her, who carefully chooses the texture of her thoughts, the task of creating a painting is to examine meticulously “Perhaps even consideration that I have shown has been stained?“ The works showcased speak of the “invisible hand,” which wraps trees with rice straw and fabric and thus enables them to withstand the cutting wind of winter.

 

In the artist’s paintings, light can be felt even though light and darkness do not manifest themselves strongly, and traces of the passing wind can be seen even though objects are not scattered. In the work The Sound of the Wind, we meet a scene of feigned innocence where one casts traces of pain borne in the heart to the wind and returns to one’s proper place as if nothing has happened. While continuing the heritage of traditional East Asian painting by retaining its composition and techniques, through the delicate touches made by the unceasing strokes of fine brushes, non-standard colors, and a personal narrative revealing traces of the unconscious, this work gives the feeling that viewers are watching a well-made animation of a traditional East Asian painting.

In that place, where all worldly noises had quieted down and only white noise remained, what did the wind try to say to me?

Cast over that place, where the wind was gone and I wept for a long time, with my shoulders heaving, is soft fabric supporting the trees and the hand of protection that, with even greater and stronger force, embraces me.

The moment one murmurs, “I can’t do anything now,” with the languid body lowered to the ground, one will encounter a miracle where the ego, as hard as flint, shatters into pieces and turns into earth covering the roots of trees.

It can take considerable time before we realize that a handful of earth is the source of life and a part of trees constituting dense forests. Nevertheless, the artist metaphorically states through her works that the closer humans approach the innate character of nature, the more strongly they wish to look around and to support one another rather than seeking to make themselves stand out.

When we feel as if we have been abandoned alone in the wilderness, we experience despair.

The strength that overcomes such despair, in the end, is to open up the message from God that is heard. None other than this is the divine message finally discovered in Lim’s work titled Together.

“If your heart hasn’t crumbled, then you haven’t crumbled. Please remember that when your heart is about to crumble, someone is holding you tight.“

The wind, which spreads vigor by shaking branches, conveys God’s messages. Reflecting the sounds of the wind, artist Lim’s works will endow those who have yet to break free from fixed ideas and narrow perspectives with not only peace but also flexible thinking, broad viewpoints, and courage to face relationships.