Cha Hyeonwook, Riddlewood, 2018, Ink on Korean paper, 80.3×65.1cm ©Cha Hyeonwook

Cha Hyeonwook visualizes ‘memory’ through dreamlike landscapes. He was intrigued by the fact that the past is not recorded in the present in its entirety, but is instead omitted, distorted, and exaggerated. His background of not having settled in one place for long but frequently moving between various locations served as a pivotal opportunity to explore the imperfection of memory. “During my teenage years, I moved twice with my parents. After graduating from university, I traveled across the country and later to Nepal. I worked in a studio in Daegu and then decided to relocate to Seoul in 2019. I was determined to pursue a new direction, even if it meant making sacrifices for the sake of change.” From that point on, the artist came to regard himself as an outsider and carved out a turning point in his practice. Each time his place of residence changed, he had to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances and form new relationships not only with people but with every element that constituted the surrounding space.

With these ‘fragments of memory’ collected from diverse places and situations, he constructs scenes where fact and fiction intertwine. He freely alters the colors and forms of reality and composes fantastical landscapes by assembling memories that transcend time and space. The clustered masses in his works are precisely these ‘memory fragments.’ Although they gather in one place, they do not completely merge; rather, they maintain a certain distance, outlined by soft contours. “Memory is made up of fragments, and between those boundaries lies a fine gap. Thus, it forms not a singular mass but an incomplete whole. It is within this space that questions arise, and the potential for transformation into something else is born. In our time, the notion of emptiness is no longer serene or calm, but is discovered within these delicate boundaries.” The artist presses forcefully onto thick Korean paper to leave imprints and layers dry brushstrokes to accumulate multiple strata of color. By incorporating original expressions into traditional landscape painting, he pioneers a new horizon in East Asian painting.

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