Artist Statement

The Return After a Long Submersion

Standing before an empty sheet of Hanji, I find myself confronting the layers of boundaries that have quietly accumulated over the years. Economic circumstances, roles, responsibilities, and the uncertainty of life once dulled my senses and narrowed my vision. Yet my longing for inner freedom never faded. After a long period of submersion, I have returned to the brush. That time was not a void but a quiet accumulation—an internal deepening that ultimately strengthened the foundation of my artistic world.

The Curve, My Language of Liberation

My painting begins with the curve. The curve is nature’s original line—one that embraces flow, deviation, and even failure with generosity. If the straight line imposes order and regulation, the curve gathers all irregularities and transforms them into a new harmony. For years, I lived under the strict measure of straight lines, aligning myself with the world’s expectations. When I returned to painting, I accepted the absolute openness of the curve. It dissolved the constraints that bound me and guided me back toward a more fluid, truthful existence.

Hanji and Ink: Materials That Reveal Being

Hanji is delicate and translucent, yet it holds a profound vitality. The way ink spreads across its fibers marks a moment of practice— an act of accepting the uncontrollable flow of the mind. Its natural bleed calms turbulence, and the layered mounting process mirrors the many strata of lived experience. As I build color upon these layers, I listen to the breath of my inner landscape. Painting, for me, is less about technique than it is about meditation and confession. These traditional materials become mirrors that reflect and reveal the origins of being.

The Aesthetics of the Interval

Though I set my brush aside for many years, art never left my life entirely. The emotions and experiences gathered across different realms of work and living settled within me, deepening over time. When I finally returned to the brush, the inner landscapes that had long rested in silence began to flow outward in color and line. Coming back to this place in my sixties feels less like a choice and more like a destiny that had been waiting for me.

A Place of Quiet Return

My painting is a journey toward stillness—an intimate record shaped by the contours of a life that has weathered many turns. The curve’s gentle flow, the ink’s spreading, and the layered colors each hold fragments of thought I gathered along the way. I hope these works offer viewers a quiet place to pause and breathe, a small refuge where one can listen to the movement of their own quiet center. These works call the viewer back to where they truly are — offering a quiet and safe place to return to.