[비즈한국] The Korean Art Support Project, which began as an initiative solely to support artists, has now continued for 10 years. Staying true to our original intent, we have supported over 230 artists. This was a unique undertaking never before attempted by any media outlet, cultural organization, or state institution in Korea. We take pride in the belief that this decade of persistence has left its mark on the 21st-century Korean art scene as a significant value. Consequently, it is recognized that the “10-year history of the Korean Art Support Project has created 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.
Life is a problem-solving process without a definitive answer. There are many formulas to seek an answer, but a clear-cut solution is difficult to find—at least as long as life continues. If so, where can the answer to life be found? Perhaps it lies in death, which is where life ultimately arrives. In the end, living becomes a path leading toward death. Our lives exist within such contradictions.
French novelist J.M.G. Le Clézio, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2008, gained recognition for his artistic world built upon the theme of life's contradictions. In his early work, "The Flood," a famous passage captures this theme: “From the moment we are born, we take a step closer to the door of death. Living day by day is, in effect, dying.”
A Buddhist worldview—that life is death—is glimpsed here. As such, "contradiction" serves as an attractive theme in art. Therefore, regardless of time or place, it is not difficult to encounter works that take contradiction as their subject.
In painting, this has even developed into a formal technique. By combining opposing elements, the theme is highlighted and the focus of the canvas is intensified. Western art history is filled with masterpieces based on such contradictory forms and content.
Kim Yang-mi’s painting also begins with contradiction. The subjects she handles in her works are in relationships of opposition or conflict: artificial and natural, indoor and outdoor, the world of daily life and fantasy, the past and the present or future. Decorative qualities serve as the link that weaves these elements together within a single situation.
Thanks to this decorative nature, her paintings are easily read by the general public. That a painting is quickly absorbed into people’s vision means it possesses persuasive power. This is one of the strengths of Kim Yang-mi’s painting.
The first thing that catches the eye in the artist's work is the interior space, which features prominent decorative beauty. Within this space is a young girl with a doll-like appearance. Furthermore, animals, plants, and objects that hold symbolic meaning are arranged within a calculated composition. The child appears to be driving various situations.
She seems to be engaged in some kind of play, yet her face is serious, which feels out of place with the situation. This is why, despite the prominent decorative beauty, Kim Yang-mi’s paintings appear anything but ordinary.
However, what is truly important in the artist’s work is the uniqueness of her color palette. Her colors seem quite unfamiliar. They are far from the color combinations that many artists prefer to use. Consequently, the harmony of colors can sometimes appear discordant.
She creates depth and a mysterious sense of fantasy in her paintings by layering complementary colors. This is why people’s gazes linger on her work for a long time. The artist explains that through this contradiction of color, she wishes to express the opposing worlds of human reality and dreams.