In this exhibition, Hyunjoo Park seems to have gained more confidence in her art-making. This batch of works still speaks basically the same language as her past creations in which she experimented with various manners of visual composition, but it also exhibits quite a bit more verve and bravura; points, lines and planes rub shoulders in a single frame, or else these elements altogether fuse and create a wholly new kind of space. Also noteworthy is Park’s deft use of compound colors such as purple and turquoise, never before seen on her canvas, which further adds to her latest work’s flavor and nuance.

The gilded polka dots small and big – a staple feature of Park’s compositions – can be found in numerous configurations: some are huddled together like a friendly crowd; some stand apart like sullen loners; some seem to be in the middle of power struggle, taut and charged, ready to vault at any moment; some remind of a hand gesture signifying peace and reconciliation. In some cases, the dots are gathered inside a silhouette of what looks to be an hourglass, symbolizing finiteness of time. In some others, as they meet with a medley of lines – vertical, horizontal, oblique – the dots seem humanized, seem to be enacting interpersonal relationships. As such, these dots resemble nothing so much as human beings in all their complexities both glorious and damning.

As her compositions unfold, we start to discern certain recurring shapes; one by one pillars go up, stairs descend, roofs perch atop, revealing architectural forms reminiscent of the Tower of Babel, or some sacred halls of the pagan antiquities, or Buddhist temples perhaps. In any case, it is the kind of place that distills life-battered man’s deepest, dearest wishes and longings, reeled up from the very bottom of the human heart.

Named in dedication to her recently deceased mother, Hyunjoo Park’s solo exhibition contemplates her life as an artist and the values that have attended to and fermented with it. Living and dying, hope and despair, suffering and healing, lack and completion, light and shadow, secularity and sanctity, space and time….all these and more are dissolved in this temple; it is a place for all human souls.
- Eunju Choi (Chief Curator, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea)

Courtesy of Keumsan Gallery