Clarity in the Counterpoise:
Explorations of Identity in the Abstract Vision of Park Hyun-su
What does it mean to be “a person”? As a Korean, a man from a venerable society in the midst of profound change, Park Hyun-su sees this as the essential question. True to his heritage, he finds an anchor in ancient philosophies that have guided the Korean world view since time immemorial, a way of thinking that discerns “identity” in a nexus between dualities—past/present, male/female, form/formless, inner/outer, front/back. And, as a person of the early twenty-first century, he remodels this anchor in response to life in the present. It is a pleasing irony that Park himself embodies the very principle of duality he explores: This voluble and engaging man, who has focused his intellectual life upon the concept and process of communication, finds his most precise articulation not through written or spoken words, but as a painter of images. And, even further, one not confined by literal representation, but freed by the abstract.
Park finds this principle of duality confirmed and embodied by his life and studies in the two cultural poles of Korea and the United States. Not East or West, but their pairing, has been the great clarifier of his identity as a Korean. His art emerges at the point of counterpoise of these opposites. In drawing upon both worlds his work consequently speaks eloquently for each, and gives his paintings a dimension that not only transcends obvious labels but even pointedly defies them.
From the classic aesthetic of ink monochrome that grounds Korean pictorial tradition—and his initial studies as an artist—Park draws three foundational concepts for his own vision. First, that the cosmos resides in the minute, as a pebble is a microcosm of the physical universe. The large, simple geometric forms that constitute the dominating structure of his compositions amass from small, precisely articulated shapes, sometimes in the hundreds. Each little shape accrues from a density of even tinier, random ones. As the formal elegance of the blocky, arithmetical forms dissolves into floating, moving, random detail, the viewer moves from a state of quietude to one of thrum and rhythm. This is the second reference: that a placid exterior should mask a restive, emotional interior.
The third looks to the blurring of the boundaries between word and image—the idea that a verbal message can be embedded in a picture while a character or phrase may retain a representational specificity and that this duality sparks the aesthetic tension that characterizes high art. But, Park takes his cue from the essence of the Korean syllabary and Western alphabet, which possesses no meaning unless the separate parts are assembled into words. Just as each embodies the concept of communication but is not in fact an actual articulation, Park explores “message” as the theme itself through the device of abstraction. In the same way that a word emerges from the uniting of letters, or a character from a canonical set of symbolic parts, his geometric images materialize from a collection of constituents that singly have no meaning.
In Park’s East/West conceptual frame, these three dominant Eastern fundamentals find a counterbalance in three from the West. Abstraction, one of the defining elements of later Western aesthetics, is the first. As his modus operandi, Park finds in abstraction a state of freedom from the confines of the obvious. Meaningless and absent any obvious context other than the uncomplicated geometric forms that they inhabit, his myriad, tiny shapes deny specificity. As the mediators between Park and his viewers, they bear no message but themselves, while the precision and care with which he has shaped them declares each one profound in its own right. They are icons that distill the connecting moment of making and receiving an utterance.
For this vocabulary of abstraction, Park relies not just upon the contour to define his shapes, but even more upon a second pillar of Western aesthetics: color, the definitive contrast to Eastern monochromatism and therefore the strongest counterforce in his East/West duality. He emphasizes its importance through his predilection for oil pigments, which he finds unmatched for richness, purity, and depth of hue. Each small icon is a density of minuscule, random accretions of color. No two alike, these layered compilations suggest myriad chromosomes and genes that as a group define the shared identity of an ethnicity, while distinguishing each person within it by their infinity of combinations.
Indeed, Park sees in color a metaphor for individualism itself. If his abstract vision embodies a philosophy of universalism in which a person is inconsequential to the cosmic, he reveals it through the details of the unique—the ultimate Western viewpoint of the human condition. Yet, by placing these incarnations of singularity within the geometrical, controlled world of his compositions, he reassures that the seeming separateness, disorder and turmoil of individual experience indeed occupies a place within a larger order, whatever that might be. It is a positive world view.
It is also one of mystery. No person is completely knowable, even to himself. What inner forces propel certain thoughts from deep within or how one appears to others, these are questions whose answers change endlessly if they are answerable at all. If in abstraction Park unites the dualities that make a life, it is through abstractions that Park explores the indefinable experience of what it is to be human.
Hannah Sigur
Symbolic Expressions of Lights and Energy
On the Occasion of Park Hyun-Su's Solo Exhibition
Yun Woo-hak (art critic)
Even today when it is more than one and half a centuries since Impressionism Painting was born, the epoch-making trend of painting is still appreciated more than any other painting form, probably because it sublimes colors into the dimension of lights, upholding their absolute value. In this process, the painting has established its own identity, looking back on itself, which must be a great achievement of Impressionism as well as a meaningful momentum for opening a new chapter in the history of painting. The so-called 'self-critical view' characterizes Impressionism. Such view is accompanied by a formidable energy or modernity in the history of fine art. Indeed, since emergence of Impressionism, painting has not remained passive or inactive - some external objects have not been simply transcribed onto the canvas. Instead, painting has been independent and autonomous, reinterpreting and reconstructing the objects in the dimension of lights only to secure the position and freedom of art.
In this context, it is little exaggerating to say that today's every painting has been, tacitly or not, affected deeply by Impressionism. And from this viewpoint, a new painting form can hardly be irrelevant to the conceptual and abstract modern logic and methodology of lights and colors, although it may be extremely progressive and autonomous.
We can find a uniquely original concept in Park Hyun-su's paintings in that they adopt a more developed painting logic, while being closely correlated with such modern logic. Actually, his paintings seem to be very significant in that they introspect on the absolute conditions for painting and thereby, use the conditions themselves as a methodology to maximize the value of colors.
For example, he uses the thin structure of colors as medium or method of expression, being conscious of the thickness of them pasted flat and thin on the canvas. The gorgeous and mysterious colors breaking through their membrane to be revealed are not just the traces of the thin brush strokes on the canvas but some immaterial substances like the color lights emitted according to his brush touches. Such manipulation is, like an exploration of a mineral vein deep in the earth, a process of searching for and digging out the origin of the colors placed somewhere under the plane. Here, his brush touches are careful and sharp as if they were exploring a thin plane. So, the handicraft is skilled that much, and further, the working process itself is necessarily multi-layered complicatedly. For example, background and image or inside and outside are transposed or the boundaries are clear and the backgrounds are obscure, or the colors are reversed.
As a consequence, his work reveals the colors more deep-layered than the ordinary painting colors, and the image of the colors even features an occultism. The reason why the image of his works is reminiscent of a mysterious or solemn stained glass of Gothic Cathedral is that his works refer directly to colors.
Nevertheless, the artist himself talks about such phenomenon as transposed energy, saying, "The wind exists but is little visible. There are various winds. The wind swaying branches or leaves of the tree, the soft wind turning over the book pages, and such terrible winds of energy as Hurricane and Typhoon..." Although his remarks seem to be quite distanced from such phenomenon, they may be interpreted to emphasize that the immaterial elements like energy and light should join the planar arena or painting to be reduced to a symbol. Then, his remarks are not contradictory. And then, his view must be correct that the energy should be interpreted as an autonomous power of colors. In addition, we should pay attention to the fact that such process is not just a happening. We must understand that his remarks are the questions raised by the artist for the essence of painting; What is the plane? What are the colors pasted on it? How can colors and forms be associated with each other? The answers to such questions must be his conclusions drawn from his long residency abroad. If we should understand his paintings in such ways, we would be able to acknowledge the value structure of his painting context inherent in his works.
The Structure and Spirit of Light Depicted
on a Two-dimensional Surface
Young Ho Kim (Professor, Chung Ang University, Art Critic)
Have you ever looked out of the round porthole of a plane at the open space of light at daybreak? Then, it won? be difficult for you to assimilate into the space of light, which is shown in Hyun-Su Park's rhythm series. It doesn't necessarily have to be daybreak; twilight would be okay, too. If the works of Hyun-Su Park lead the beholder of the light colouring the vast heaven and earth to a sublime domain, what we experience in front of his works is the spirit and the structure of the light as symbolic modes. The structure of light refers to an order of colours that are expressed through paintings, while the spirit of light represents an abstract concept that one experiences through the order of colours expressed on the screen. To elaborate, a mode and a symbol, which are required in the process of a natural light becoming colour on a surface, are the spirit and the structure of light.
Hyun-Su Park's paintings come from his experience. He reflects that it all started from the inspiration of the light that he experienced at the Grand Canyon. Magnificent precipices and rocks of various colours are the visible in a vast space, representing the time after the Archeozoic era. Understanding the space of experiential light is important, as it can be used as the standard by which the meaning of the artist’s works may be interpreted. At least, this explains that his art results from inspiration from nature, like landscape painting, rather than from the domain of pure ideas. In spite of the element of abstraction in his works, Hyun-Su Park's attitude towards art is of the realistic view. And it can be said that his paintings originate from the natural light; in the process of expressing the experience of that light in the form of art, he developed his own concept mode, which is the structure and the spirit of light.
For Hyun-Su Park, a canvas is a place for intense actions and thoughts. More dripping work than the work abstractionists tried on a canvas is tried out repeatedly until the foundation work is complete. In this process, the artist witnesses colours spreading, pushing, mixing, chipping, absorbing, flowing and drying. And the artist finally covers the entire surface with colours. Putting aside the time for impulsive actions, the artist has to spend time weighing and concentrating on ideas in front of the canvas. Before the colours are totally dry, with the help of a rubber knife, he draws on the canvas and removes colours. Pebbles that he observed at the Grand Canyon emerge, and the alphabet and numbers form on the canvas as a means of communication.
The symbolic work of light that Hyun-Su Park has attempted is shown in his various series. When we look at the pieces he has introduced at his solo exhibition, they can be broadly divided into four categories: Communication, which describes the artist as C, Rhythm, Circle and Body.
First of all, the communication series are works where the artist arranged the entire canvas with his unique small symbols. As discussed above, after various colours are applied through a dripping technique and dried, this category encompasses the early work that uses the method of scratching symbolic shapes into the paint. The fact that it reveals the background colours by scratching the canvas with the rubber knife means that this can be called a kind of scratching technique. The symbols that are created are arranged on the canvas with a rhythm and an order like calligraphy. Though this method tends to grow more complicated in structure as time passes, it has become conventionalized, being applied to all of Hyun-Su Park's works. As the title suggests, we can take a glimpse of the relationship between more than two individual units, which are the conditions of communication underlying this action.
Secondly, the rhythm series, as mentioned earlier, comprises works that bring to mind the space of light out of the porthole of a plane. This series is glamorous and decorative and with, the aforementioned scratch technique, the round porthole reveals the colours of the rainbow of light. The interior space of the window is filled with various colours that have horizontal structures.
Thirdly, the circle series, as the term suggests, refers to work where symbols in various forms are arranged like floating objects in the non-gravity space on a background of colours with a round or oval shape. The background image can appear to be supporting the symbol images drawn on it, and it can also seem like the shadow of the spirit and the structure of a nucleus. The representation mode in the circle series is quite diverse. However, the rainbow light emitting from the surface of symbols that are scratched with a rubber knife reminds us of the beauty of traditional metal craft relics like a golden crown and an incense burner. The mentality that is shown here is the charm of this series.
Lastly, the body series, as the term suggests, is where the artist sets up colours to hint at the silhouette of a body, and arranges his own unique colours on the surface. In this series, the intention of implicitly arranging concrete objects in the artist's abstract patterns is clearly shown.
As has been discussed above, the spirit and the structure of light expressed in Hyun-Su Park's works continue through various formal experiments. This mode shows uniformity, as it takes the brilliance of colours as its common denominator. The mode can be summarized in terms such as dripping, drawing, arrangement, repetition, patterns, etc. Moreover, corresponding concepts like the sides of a coin refer to light, space, shadows, mentality, scenery, nature and the nucleus. And the uniformity of these concepts and the variety of formal experiments are Hyun-Su Park's greatest strengths, as well as the elements which cause us to have such great expectations of his work.\
Hyun-Su Park
Born in Kwang-Ju Korea
Education
M.F.A in Painting, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
M.F.A in Fine Art, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea
B.F.A in Fine Art, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea
Solo Exhibitions
2010 Multiplicity, Dooin Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2008 Duality08, Jean Art Center, Seoul, Korea
2007 Recent Works, Evolving Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Duality, Song Eun Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2006 Solo, 1212 Gallery, Burlinggame, CA
2005 C-WindowII, The Consulate General of The Repubic of Korea, LA, CA
2004 Communication, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
2004 C-WindowI. San Francisco, The Consulate General of The Repubic of Korea, San Francisco, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 Dangdai China-Korea Wusoo Art Show, 798-706Hall, Beijing, China
2009 KIAF, Jean Art Center, Coex, Seoul, Korea
Korea, Japan Contemporary Artist's Show, Jean Art Center, Seoul, Korea
Scales of the Dragon, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea
Moojin Art 2009, Chosunilbo Museum, Seoul, Korea
Korea, Japan, Latin Contemporary Arts 2009,Dongduk Art Gallery, Seoul, Korea
8Artist-8Color, Dooin Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Chungang Contemporary Art Show , Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Seoul Insa Art Festival 2009, Seoul Museum, Seoul, Korea
2008 Bundang Art Fastival, Sungnam Art Center, Sungnam, Korea
Jung-Ye Artist's Invitation, Ansan Danwon Art Center, Ansan, Korea
Chooyimsae, Chosunilbo Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Mindscape, Evolving Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA,
Korea, Japan, Latin Contemporary Arts 2008,Dongduk Art Gallery, Seoul, Korea
32 Contemporary Artists Show, Yimlib Museum, Gong-Ju, Korea
2007 Pocheon Asia Biennale, Pochon, Korea
The Exchange Exhibition of Japan, Korea Contemporary Arts, Nagoya, Japan
Korea, Japan Contemporary Arts For Peace, Dongduk Art Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Exhibition of Eun Chae Jeun, Seoul Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Dong-Gang Contemporary Art Festival, Youngwal Art Center, Korea
Contemporary Arts for 26Artists, Naroo Art Center, Seoul, Korea
The Wings for Soaring , Tableau Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2006 MM06, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
Annual Member's Showcase, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
Open Studio, Hunter's Point Shipyard, San Francisco, CA
2005 Works Big and Small, Evolving Art Gallery, Vallejo, CA
3rd Street, Viz Gallery, Millbrae, CA
Real and Surreal, Evolving Art Gallery Vallejo, CA
2004 The 15 Chuseon Gala, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Common Thread, Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
Imbued, Threau Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Vallejo Art Festival, The Fetterly Gallery, Vallejo, CA
2003 SFAI Spring Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFAI, Continuing MFA Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002 Crossing Brdged, CBS Maket Watch.com, San Francisco, CA
SFAI Spring Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Open Studio, SFAI 3th Street MFA Studio, San Francisco, CA
SFAI, Continuing MFA Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Grants and Awards
2009 Kwang-Ju Fine-Art Award Grand Prize, Kwang-ju, Korea
2007 Song Eun Cultural Foundation Sponsorship, Seoul, Korea
2006 MM06, ICA Sponsorship 1212 Gallery, San Jose, CA
2004 Juror's Choice Award Winner, Vallejo Art Foundation, Vallejo, CA
2002-2003 SFAI Graduate Fellowship, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
2002-2003 SFAI Teaching Assistantships, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
2001 SFAI Merit Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute, CA
