ARTIST STATEMENT

My works are inspired by views of especially spectacular city spaces. I want to preserve these images from my perspective, and my motivation is to share my feelings with others through painting. The desire and impulse hoping to express the visible images from city spaces to pictures is caused by a pleasant of sight from spectacles. The artificial structures and spaces are recreated by my formative sense, and the strength of emotions in spectacle blow up on my work. I intend to rouse the audiences to experience the splendor of huge artificial spaces with artificial order. This process is my intention to express the power of affecting from the flat work, ‘just picture’, to the audiences with my formative language, by inducing their positive reactions toward my pictures. I recreate the original view by reflecting three-dimensional outward features and by emphasizing flat aspects.

Some examples of my art are a showcase of a shop, a skyscraper or airplane and artificial spaces like swimming pool or airport. My materials are ‘ready made,' giving the process a functional and formative aspect. I concentrate on the superficial appearance of the material rather than on its essential characteristics, which are relative elements between the material and I. My sight for external world was also made between the external and I, not within myself. The human point of view is intimately associated with time and space of the modern city. The main effect of modern people’s sense of time and space is high-speed transportation, and the changed sense of speed lets people move and see at the same time. At high speeds, people only get superficial information about sight. Also, it permits to get only superficial information about sight within the limited hour. The changed sense of speed also causes the change of sense of space because rapid movement expands the space of experience. Also, the visible experience through a window in city space makes people see the subject indirectly and superficially, and the image of a flat, which is lacked of depth, was accepted to focus on appearance than the essence of the subject.

I use the reconstructed and enlarged image of a photo as a rough sketch for transcribing in the surface my canvas or formax. By enlargement, the image may be altered or divided into black and white, and I sometimes accept these effects caused by chance. This simple way of drawing is different with a traditional way, which consists of the artist synthesizing an abstract image from external things. The indirect drawing minimizes expression of the artist’s emotion, and draws the subjects apathetically. The repetitive ‘choice’ and ‘limitation’ from a chosen image of photography—composition, arrangement of color and reconstruction—is an important element of my work.

The gloss of enamel pigments I often use for my work is very effective for drawing artificial structures. The gloss of materials and a strong contrast of color are similar to the artificial structure’s own surfaces, which first caught my interest. Also, the liquid nature of enamel, which spreads out with regular thickness by itself, makes a brush unnecessary. The equally painted color emphasizes the two-dimensional nature of the canvass. In my works “Street” and “Swimming Pool,” distance is emphasized. Because of the depth of space, it induces the audience’s eyes to the inside of screen. However, since the phantom space is painted with simplified color, emphasizing a two-dimensional nature, it also induces their eyes to the outside. By using the characteristics of enamel, I give audiences alternately two-dimensional and three-dimensional perspectives.

I also make the eyes concentrate on the nature of the surface by drawing on mirror or building materials, in addition to canvas. These works contrast strongly with the way in which the fabric of canvas absorbs paint. The poured enamel covers and adheres to the artificial surface. I see the artificial landscape, which surrounds the modern city. It seems to have splendid and convenient life. My works are a kind of “ artificial landscape paintings.” The process of creating artificial spaces in cities is similar to the process of making my works placing them on exhibition. The surface of city’s landscape, which is changing fast and also too tedious and repetitive, is wrapped. It is my work to reconstruct formatively the idle and exhaustive landscape, which included in energetic and vigorous space.