[비즈한국] The Korea Art Promotion Project, which began as an initiative solely to support artists, has now spanned 10 years. We have supported over 230 artists while staying true to our original intention. This was an unprecedented endeavor, unmatched by any other media outlet, cultural organization, or government agency in Korea. We take pride in the belief that this decade of persistence has left a distinct mark on the 21st-century Korean art scene as a unique value. This is why the project is recognized for having established 'the 10-year history of the Korea Art Promotion Project as a vantage point from which to observe the flow of contemporary Korean art.' Now, in Season 11, we aim to pave another path for Korean art.
The greatest power of art is the freedom of imagination. The imagination provided by art has deepened and broadened our thinking, serving as a driving force for the development of human civilization. Imagination is activated when whimsical situations occur within everyday life—like a pristine bed placed on a lyrical beach at sunset, or waves washing up onto a living room floor. What if the sea poured out of a sofa? Could something like this ever happen? While impossible in reality, it is entirely possible in art.
What if we were to encounter such a fantastical scene in an everyday life where yesterday feels like today, and tomorrow promises to be no different? Perhaps this is the kind of freshness that art brings to us.
Making extremely ordinary subjects appear anew is one of the conditions of a masterpiece. Numerous masterpieces encountered throughout art history find new perspectives within such familiar realities.
Cho Eun-joo’s paintings provide a fresh stimulus by transforming the objects or everyday situations around us into whimsical landscapes. She creates a sense of wonder by arranging completely unrelated objects and situations into a single scene, such as the sea and a bed, a night sky inside a display cabinet, or a living room sofa and a field.
Why does she present such unfamiliar and unsettling landscapes? She says she wants to use these symbols and metaphors to breathe vitality, like a lubricant, into the monotonous daily lives of modern people.
However, the reason the artist's whimsical landscapes do not appear forced is due to her detailed descriptive power and stable sense of composition. The realistic expression seen in hyper-realistic painting enhances the sense of presence in the objects, and the landscapes crafted through her directorial power create a mysterious atmosphere.
The most frequent element in her work is the lyrical sea. Her canvases, reminiscent of scenes from a film, harbor dual emotions: a somewhat decadent melancholy and a warm lyricism. These two contrasting feelings lead us into a contemplative landscape. The sea is contained within sofas and beds. The sea is the cradle of life, and the artist has adopted this metaphor as her theme.
“To me, the sea feels like a mother’s womb. It is a place that is tranquil and infinitely peaceful. It is like an innate image remaining somewhere in our subconscious; I want to find it and find comfort.”
Cho Eun-joo’s whimsical landscapes showcase the power of imagination. Through them, she says she wishes to offer freshness and comfort to those living in reality.