그림 회繪에 그림 화畫: 최수련

《Paint hoe繪, Paint huà畫》

Sooryeon Choe

5 - 30 April 2023

The title of the exhibition, 《Paint hoe繪, Paint huà畫》 reflects Sooryeon Choe’s artistic approach. Her oil paintings depict traditional and classical images of Northeast Asia, reinterpreted within a contemporary framework. These works explore themes such as classic ghost stories, Eastern art literature, and prophetic figures. The series <Transcriptions for the Hangeul Generation> features Chinese characters extracted from original texts collected by the artist, complemented by phonetic readings and interpretative commentary. For this project, Choe references pages from <The Tao of Painting>, 1956, by Mai Mai Sze, which illustrates techniques for depicting flowers, trees, stones, people, and objects in Oriental painting, serving as a foundational influence for her work.

Her artwork has a familiar quality, reminiscent of handwritten notes, yet it encompasses a complex mixture of disparate and ambivalent elements that resist clear catgorization. As viewers engage with the visuals and accompanying writing, the recurring theme of "death and dying" in her pieces can evoke both humour and unease, similar to a subtle joke or a poignant reminder of life's fleeting nature. In traditional Chinese texts, the formal style often coexists with humour derived from its verbosity and seriousness. This blend of familiarity, unfamiliarity, and occasional absurdity in Chinese script reflects our nuanced attitudes towards 'Oriental' cultural elements. 

Meanwhile, the artist continues to explore the concept of painting. Her solo exhibition at Incheon Art Platform in 2020 featured a series titled "Pictures for Use and Pleasure", including works such as 《The Tao Painting》 and 《Paint hoe繪, Paint huà畫》. However, the artist has not been able to fully express her genuine conviction regarding the idea of 'good painting' as the classical discourse referenced in her work does. Perhaps her sincere reflection can only be conveyed through humour or tautology, much like the Chinese charcters hoe huà which mean 'picture picture'.

About the Artist

Choe Sooryeon observes how East Asian-style images are reproduced and consumed today, and paints with that in mind. After Korea's modernisation, "Oriental" elements came to be seen as outdated or strange, and she approaches them with a mix of doubt and unreserved affection, reconsidering their value. Drawing on traditional clichés shared across East Asia, she explores themes such as sorrow, womanhood, distance from reality, internalised Orientalism, doubt, ignorance, and absurdity. 

Choe graduated from the Department of Painting at Hongik University and earned her master's degree in Western Painting at Seoul National University. She has held solo exhibitions such as <Moojung Pilsa>, 2020, <Taepyeong Sunjeon> 2020, and <Music of a Lost Country>, 2019, Cheongju Art Studio, 2018.