Gallery Ja-an
Gallery Ja-an is based in Sejong City and is run in collaboration with actively working artists from Seoul, Daejeon, Sejong, and Busan. Through art fair activities at home and abroad, artists with their own personality and color are constantly introduced to the general public.
Locations
504-1Ho,5th floor,Nasu gro 33-6,Sejong, Republic of Korea
+82 2 010-4516-5287
Sumi Park, Being Myself-face, 2022, Shower towel on canvas, 53 × 45.5 cm
Imported Italian viscose rayon became so widely used for exfoliation in Korea that a ‘wash cloth’ was simply referred to as an ‘Italian towel’. Public baths in Korea have long provided healing and recuperation for the tired; even wearing nothing but a towel, you can feel comfortable showing your exposed back to strangers. In our bathing culture, where strangers may assist by scrubbing each other’s backs, a wash-cloth symbolises mutual trust and is an important medium through which we connect with others.
In a similar spirit, I bring my works and offer them in trust to an unfamiliar country. I offer you my wash-cloth.
Hyunok Kwuan, the summer story, 2023, lnk and color on paper, 81 × 38.2 cm
The character is drawn by me, the artist. I looked at the greed, dissatisfaction. sadness and loneliness which are deep in my heart and portrayed them as lumps attached to my body and expressed my body as dull.
The more I attempted to shake off these feelings, the more painful they got. It is embarrassing and uncomfortable to show others that you have these feelings. I often pretended not to be, to deceive myself and others around me. This concealment binds me even more and makes me sick. Instead of concealing or dismissing these negative emotions, I yearn to portray them in their raw and authentic state.
Only when I face and acknowledge these feelings and myself as I am, will I find freedom.
Hyunok Kwuan, MIAO, 2023, lnk and color on paper, 36 × 27 cm
“MIAO” represents the cry of a cat.
Untamed cats dream of freedom at first, but when it finally comes, they hesitate and retreat back into the confines of the world out of fear and uncertainty.
In the same way, I find myself dreaming of my own freedom once again—within this small frame.