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Carnevale
by Gana Art New York
Location: Gana Art New York
Artist(s): PARK Min Joon
Date: 21 May - 20 Jun 2009

NEW YORK – Gana Art New York is pleased to present the first U.S. solo exhibition of Korean artist, Park Min-Joon. On view from May 21 – June 20, 2009, the show will consist of nine works on linen.

Park Min-Joon's paintings are most notable for his unique, startling, and masterful blending of the European Neo-Classical style of idealized beauty, with mythological references -- all the while retaining a quintessential contemporary and Eastern identity. Park's classical Western style of painting clearly shows an influence of European Masters such as Caravaggio, Nicholas Poussin, and Jan Van Eyck. Moreover, as art critic Robert C. Morgan states: "Park takes classical painting in a new direction. Park's classicism…hints at the eternal present, the safe-haven of the mind to engage in myth and to function according to the ideals of truth and beauty."

Park uses the carnival, a time and place of merriment and release from common restraints, as a symbol of the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. This theme of life and death is at the core of Park's works as he strives to convey the essence of happiness, love and an idealistic vision of death as a natural continuum of the cycle of life. The paintings in Carnevale are allegorical, yet their titles serve as a key to deciphering tales that are laden with semiotics. The works are reflections of the artist's personal encounters, experiences, and perspectives. His subjects are, in fact, intimate portrayals of his close friends.

Having recently completed a rigorous study in Tokyo (2007) on the art of mixing emulsion grounds with oils, Park endeavors to perfect the science of mixing mediums and pigments to create the finest and most enduring results. In so doing, Park draws out the best of present day materials, all the while paying homage to the masters of the European Renaissance by enhancing their original developments. Yet for Park, his traveling back in time entails much more than the studying of materials and techniques. His representations of the past are also a reflection on the context and philosophy of that time, and they reveal his reverence for an era that is now widely acknowledged as the apogee in the art of painting.

In today's Contemporary art world, there is a consistent emphasis on innovation that continues to push the existing boundaries. Within this dynamic climate, Park is focused on working within a paradoxical personal space in which he celebrates the talent of past masters while developing a present that is uniquely his own.

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