[𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] Nanan SOLO EXHIBITION /《Teatime》

The exhibition showcases works from her years of exploration into the beauty of Korean uniqueness, presenting a three-dimensional interplay of past and present. The "TeaTime" series, a new series of works by the artist, showcases a unique aesthetic perspective, combining hanji, a Korean paper steeped in Korean culture, with canvas, resulting in a uniquely Korean perspective. This series, debuting at Gil-Igu Gallery, actively utilizes the traditional aesthetics of nature and Korean culture, a constant focus of her pursuit of "timeless beauty" and "eternity." Traditional iconography, such as plum blossoms and traditional Korean tea culture, is interpreted through her own unique lens, utilizing diverse materials and variations. Her work boldly blends figurative and abstract motifs, intersecting objects and images, embodying a questioning and exploration of Korean beauty.

Many people ask me how nature and traditional Korean culture became the subject matter of my work.
I usually think that humans owe a lot to nature, and I feel that way even more because I get inspiration for my work.
Is there another being in this world who gives of themselves so generously and consistently? Just as nature bestows love upon my life, I hope my work will naturally permeate people's lives and remain with them.

Furthermore, I'm deeply committed to the fact that I'm a Korean born and raised in Korea, and this serves as the foundation of my work. However, I also strive to reinterpret aesthetics that existed in the past but have been neglected and linger, failing to translate into contemporary forms, in a form I can understand. This, in turn, creates my own unique work, a task that remains.
To do that, I had no choice but to think about everything that makes up who I am: my experiences, my environment, my identity.

I could temporarily draw whatever I want to draw at that time, but the life given to me is so short that there will be limits to how much I can study and move forward with even one part.
So I chose to live my life focusing on the identity I have and expressing it through my work.
And I think that explains why traditional Korean culture has become the subject of my work. However, I don't want to create works that forcefully and unnaturally convince others of their own uniqueness. Instead, I want to create works that naturally approach the lives of modern people through art, adding formal force to traditional expressive purposes through Nanan's paintings.

In the past, our people enjoyed drinking tea. In modern times, it's no exaggeration to say that tea has largely been replaced by coffee, with Korea now boasting the second-highest per capita coffee consumption in the world.
It makes me think of various things, such as the fact that our society today may be a representative example of a 'fatigued society', or perhaps our country is a nation that loves tea, and perhaps we need the space and time to stay in a cafe under the pretext of drinking tea.

Ultimately, as someone who is part of this social phenomenon, I realized the impact that "tea time" has on the lives of modern people, and I hope you understand that I tried to incorporate the phenomenon of drinking tea and the reasons for it into my work and exhibition.
As a contemporary Korean artist, I wanted to explore the time spent drinking tea—tea time—and began to look into the tea paintings of our ancestors (paintings by Yi In-mun, Shim Sa-jeong, Jeong Seon, and Jeong Yak-yong). Ultimately, my thoughts on this phenomenon were expressed in the form of a work, a modern tea bag.

Location, Opening Date: Gil-i-gu Gallery ( 35 Gangnam-daero 158-gil, Seoul) / 18.MAR - 22.APR.2023