Still Life XXIII

Yeon Kyung Park’s atmospheric paintings were the result of Park’s attempt to capture the ephemerality of the feeling of calm and peach through paint and color. Throughout her practice, Park considers memory, unconsciousness, and the fleeting nature of perceived sensations. Parks soft edges and diffuse colors allude to these half-remembered, soon fading moments.

Park on what inspired this series:
“One morning I woke up at early dawn. And the color of the room was blue which made me feel calm. So I wanted to express that feeling I felt in that moment of dawn. Moments of dawn are too short, about 30 minutes later, the sun comes up, so it makes me realize everything l love is just a short moment. So, to express the calmness I felt at that moment. I used a towel to smudge, to make it look faded like our moments. People tend to overlook those moments. I want to express those daily short moments of peacefulness.”

Park Yeon-Kyung speaking about her practice:
“My pieces are my unconscious painting archives.They would be things, experiences and moments I’ve encountered that hold the memories and emotions that I couldn’t recognize at that time. Sometimes it can be expressed as abstract but those are the most important methods to express what's on my mind. Unconsciousness is an area of my inner self that I can’t realize. I find traces of unconsciousness delicately, I gain new experiences through steps of expressing them into art so I believe everything has a connection. I experience freedom of the unconscious and find things in my mind through painting. I give them the chance to think about the relationship of myself and the object itself through the pieces. Through this, my pieces give me new insight and experiences. And I hope that my pieces can be a source of freedom of the unconscious and sharing experiences.”