The exhibition of paintings by Korean Artist Sea Hyun Kim exemplifies alot that interest me with painting in the current art climate. The level of skill and meticulous craft is in no detriment the communication of the artists intent and ideas.
The exhibition included eight paintings as large as six meters by four meters, painted in rather fine detail.
The landscapes depicted by Kim are based on personal experiences of the Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) that acts as a buffer between the north and south divide of the two countries.
What most intrigues me about these paintings aside from the artists obviously routinely obsessive and repetitive practice, is his notion of 'representation' of both a space and a memory.
It becomes apparent when moving from one image to another that the artist has utilised a strict set of schematic motifs, one that represent mountains, trees, buildings, etc. This set of repetitive symbols are reused and reconfigured into a possibly endless series of works. This generates a space within the images where fiction based on fact. It is a space that exists but it is a space that no-one can enter. Kim's memories of the place (from military service) are represented not in a physical sense but a metaphysical sense. The collaging of the spacial values in the landscapes constantly keeps your eyes busy making sense of the contradictory senses of perspective. Although from a distance solid objects can be grasped it is at closer scrutiny that one becomes aware of these contradictions, the oversized scale of buildings in comparison to the mountainous forms, or , as previously stated, the repetition of certain elements in both landscape and architectural forms.
The repetition is key to the understanding of Zen ink painting where all natural elements have their own motif for being rendered, so again rather than manifesting a physical space, something more personal, spiritual and experiential is being represented.
The fact that Kim painted these images in London makes one aware of this Globalised convergence of styles and culture. The isometric perspective used, similar to that of chinese ink painting, is fused with a western methodology of painting. The red oil paint used is transparent washes gives a more physical and luminescent presence to the paintings objects than traditional ink could whilst at the same time retaining a ghostliness that inhabits a lot of eastern ink painting. This elusive Ghostliness is again representative of what the place means, manifested in the collective consciousness of the Korean nation.
Finally what I'd like to conclude with is in questioning the sense of fantasy these fictitious spaces undoubtedly create. Question them in the sense of their idealism. Are they Utopian or Dystopian. Their political background gives them a sinister edge as does the lack of human presence in the paintings. Human existence is only hinted at by the possibly empty and abandoned architectural structures and towns. However their Romantic conception of a landscape whether meant wryly or genuinely does portray a sense of longing and nostalgia, though not overly so as that undercurrent of political cynicism still exists.
Hyun Lee creates a series of paintings with many layers, both of pigments and ideas.
