The Fresh and Sharp Branch: 노석미
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From April 23 to May 28, Gallery Chosun will be presenting 《The Fresh and Sharp Branch》, a solo exhibition by Noh Seok Mee, seven years after her last exhibition at the gallery in 2017. Her 2017 exhibition 《Very Green》 captured the rice fields, farms, and mountains around her home in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, using simple brushwork and clear colour. Nok Seok Mee finds her subjects close to her daily life. In this exhibition, she will present paintings of flowers and vases, figurative works, and a series of text paintings.
Noh Seok Mee’s simple brushwork and clear colours invite viewers to imagine their own stories. Her ability to capture a subject with just a few strokes is appealing, but it is just as enjoyable to imagine the mood and hidden narratives within those strokes.
Unlike precise, photo-like depiction that fixes an image to its subject, blurred details and softened outlines create distance between the two. Through this gap, viewers take part in the journey from image back to subject. The same is true of her text painting series. Although the words may seem to tell a story directly, the space created by placing text alongside the image does not fix a single narrative. Instead, it opens a path for stories to form in the viewer’s own mind.
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신선학 뾰족한 가지 : 노석미
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Images, the distance between image and subject, and the stories that arise from it are closely tied to Noh Seok Mee’s interest in literature. Much like poetry conveys emotion through the placing of words, she does the same through painting. She is also the author of several illustrated books. To coincide with the exhibition, an art book titled 신선하고 뾰족한 가지(The Fresh and Sharp Branch) will be released. It will include 60 poems and 20 images of flowers and vases. Among them, let us take a look at the poem that shares the same title as both the exhibition and the book:
〈신선하고 뾰족한 가지〉
검은 손등 주름마다
검은 손등, 그 주름 틈마다 너의 초록이 들어있어
움직일 때마다 부스럭 떨어져 나와 굴러
테이블위에 제각각의 모양으로 자리를 잡았다가
사소한 여러 사건들로 인해 이리저리 자리이동을 하더니,
몇 몇 놈은,
테이블 아래로 떨어져 짓밟히다가 그 흔적이 사라지기도 하고
몇 몇 놈은,
다시 어딘가로 붙어 더욱 원경에 놓이기도 하다가
결국 까맣게 잊힌 존재가 되어버리기도 한다
하지만 아쉬워할 필요는 없는 것이,
너의 검은 손등 주름 사이로 초록은 뭉글뭉글 다시 솟아오른다
산토끼,까치,고라니,비둘기,오소리,까마귀,산돼지,족제비,너구리
그리고
신선하고 뾰족한 가지
[Noh Seok Mee, The Fresh and Sharp Branch (Published by dbhssip, 2024), p.12]
Noh Seok Mee’s paintings of flowers and vases feel so fresh and sweet that you can almost smell them. They are vibrant, like “검은 손등 주름 사이 초록”. The flowers in the vase, however, will wither, lose their scent, and fade in less than a week. What passes remains only in memory, lingering in the eye. There is no need for regret. Just as winter eventually gives way to spring, “검은 손등 주름 사이로 초록은 뭉글뭉글 다시 쏟아 오른다”. Like new buds at the tip of a “Fresh and Sharp Branch”.
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canvas paintings
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Flowers in a vase
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text paintings
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Past exhibitions
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Video
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