The Visualized Soul: Junghi Han, Namsook Kwon, Lonnie Hong, SungEun Kim, Henna Kim, Seoung Gil Heo

The show will run Aug 1 – 20, 2012 with an Opening Reception on Friday Aug. 3, 6-8 PM.

The artists in this show speak to the idea of the Visualized Soul manifested as art. Inquiry into the purpose and meaning of art led to the examination of its forms as imprints of spirituality. Since the Paleolithic period man has been creating art with magical or spiritual properties, as a way of grasping and or controlling the natural elements. Early shamanist designs on bones and other materials, depicted magical symbols and helped predict the future of cyclical production. Art, religion, spirituality and writing were inextricably bound and in the service of society at large.

Even now, were we to ask the public to define art, most people would describe it is manifested creative impulse linked to the divine. They see it as creative impulse turned into visible form. In presenting the works of Junghi Han, Namsook Kwon, Lonnie Hong, Sung Eun Kim, Henna Kim and Seoung Gil Heo the curator invites you to an adventure of the soul. . Henna Kim’s painting captures the invisible side of human perception. As an immigrant artist she found that the cultural gap could be narrowed by spiritual connection of intertwined vocabularies from east and west. In “Pilgrim” (2012), she represents the idea that life on earth is a spiritual journey and that we all live in the pilgrim’s progress. Lonnie Hong is inspired by prehistoric tomb paintings but also scribbles on cave walls and sand paintings.

Hong found these sand drawings and wall scribbles intuitive and liberating. Through painting Hong attempted reconnecting with her subconscious mind. The organic shapes and familiar lines in her painting stimulate the viewer’s imaginations and become liberating for the mind. Sung Eun Kim chose the image of the cross to depict visions of God with pen. Kim tries to express the mystery of God through the cross symbol in her drawings. Its use also marks her own spiritual journey to know God. Junghi Han’s work represents a spiritual connection between the cultures of east and west. Han express the eastern philosophy with western style in her abstract painting that uses calligraphy and mixed media. Han creates depth with repeated layers for strong foundation beneath the images in the foreground.

Also light is a metaphor for spirituality and transcendence in her painting. Seong Gil Heo depicts the culture of the cities based on the mathematical grid characterized by order and regularity with ink on rice paper and mixed media on canvas. Heo wants to highlight the imperfect lines that comprise modern society’s chaos making it even more complex. It is the expression of life caused by the disordered line, which echoes the artist. Namsook Kwon traveled the dessert between Egypt and Israel and came across one and only living tree in the center of the desert. Kwon’s most powerful memories go back to nature and specifically, that tree. Since then Kwon brought the tree in her paintings and the tree can be seen in terms of one’s self-portrait, one reflecting her life.