Jihoon Yang

I am a flat-screen painter who explores the boundaries between reality and ideals and the inner and outer sides. From a young age, I fell in love with imagining an ideal world beyond reality, which, coupled with the difficulties of my life, deepened. In my work, the symbolic elements of 'door' and 'light' are centered, which act as a passage and metaphor for moving out of reality and into a transcendent space.

My art journey began when I was in high school, being hospitalized for a long time with heart problems. Although he suffered psychological and mental isolation due to prolonged treatment and hospitalization, this time served as an opportunity to look deep inside and develop his passion for art. I learned to look at the bright side of life in the midst of extreme despair, and this experience later became an important subject of my work. My work starts with a personal story, but I want to go further and capture the joys, sorrows, and sorrows of the universal human race.

The door and light in the work go beyond simple form and are symbolic mediums that connect reality and ideals. This allows visitors to go on their own inner journey and discover the possibility of reaching an ideal in the face of daily hardships. I dream that my work can give viewers inner reflection and psychological comfort that transcends reality. 

The inspiration of my work comes from the momentary fantasies and experiences I encounter in my daily life. These moments are captured visually and emotionally, and I record them and reimagine them into works. Especially, I take pictures of clouds and interpret the beauty of the moment in my own way and put it on canvas. It focuses on visualizing the emotional and psychological depth contained in the moment, not just a landscape representation.

For example, I went out with my family and looked up while waiting for a signal, and the sky left a strong impression on me. I wanted to capture the emotions and soft atmosphere of that moment in my work. My special heart grew stronger thinking about my 6-year-old son who loves the sky. Even if it's different from the image I first thought of when I started working on it, I complete the work by interpreting the color and composition anew. This process is a creative moment where nature and the inner world interact and a journey to discover the joy of life. 

My artistic exploration goes beyond just visual expression and provides an experience that transcends reality by communicating psychologically and emotionally with the audience. I believe that art has a powerful power to inspire new perspectives and hope in the audience through this transcendent experience.

"Peaceful Scenery" is a series of works in which a relaxed sea and a dreamy sky are harmonized to awaken the peaceful landscape that lies deep in the audience's heart, opening up a new horizon of beauty and thinking. 

I spent my childhood in Haeundae. I settled there because of my father's job, so I spent all my elementary, middle and high school years in that area. If Haeundae now boasts an urban landscape full of skyscrapers, Haeundae in my childhood was a time when the abundance of nature was more prominent. All four seasons, day and night the sea always existed as an open space, and when it stood there, it was possible to put down all the heavy burdens. 

After I became an adult, it was difficult to find the sea often because of my physical distance, but whenever I had the chance, I found it anywhere. Given that many people seek out the ocean when they need respite from everyday life, the comfort and consolation provided by the boundless natural landscape stretching beyond the horizon may reflect an instinctive sense that is deeply rooted in the human experience. 

The starting point of this series was the memories and emotions of the sea that warmed my childhood, which was a little harder than the average students. The sky in the work symbolizes dreams and hopes, and the sea metaphorizes the constant flow and journey of life. I dream that the scenery created by the harmony of these two natural elements provides a calm opportunity for comfort and contemplation not only for me but also for visitors. 

Just as the expression "Rest in Peace" honors and memorializes the moment life leaves, "Peaceful Scenery" embodies a tranquil landscape at the intersection of remembrance and beauty. This is beyond just the representation of nature, and it is intended to give visitors a rest and reflection moment in a busy daily life, allowing them to feel at ease and experience the calmness of the moment.

Education

2012 Graduate Studies in Painting, Pratt Institute, USA

2010 Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Painting, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

2003 Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Film and Video, School of Design & Media, College of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Korea

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 One Step with Light, Brick Sand × DeArt82, Brick Sand Samcheong, Seoul, Korea

2021 One Step with Light, The Seoul Shinmun, Seoul Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2020 One More Step, Insa Art Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2019 Landscape in Fantasy, KBS Viewers Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2018 Landscape in Fantasy, Gallery IHN, Seoul, Korea

2017 Into Fantasy, Cyart Space, Seoul, Korea

2016 The Path to Fantasy, Seojin Art Space, Seoul, Korea

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 

2024

2024 BAF K-Art: Making Global Waves, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul, Korea

Seocho × Gwanak Cultural Foundation Exchange Art Fair, Seoripul Youth Art Gallery & Gwancheon-ro Cultural Platform S1472, Seoul, Korea

Bucheon Cultural Foundation Corporate Collaboration Program: Art Collaboration, ChoiceBio × Jihoon Yang

2023

Breeze Art Fair: Local Track, Nodeul Island Gallery, Seoul, Korea

50 Artists of Bucheon, Bucheon Cultural Foundation, Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Gwanghwamun International Art Festival: Asian Contemporary Young Artists Exhibition, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul, Korea

2022

The JoongAng Art Competition, Hanguk Art Museum, Insadong, Seoul, Korea 

Korea Art Show, Suwon Convention Center, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Young Artists' Art Shop: Homecoming, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea

2021

Yeosu International Art Festival, Yeosu Expo Convention Center, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, Korea

Healing from COVID-19, Gyeonggi Art Collection Special Exhibition, Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

2020

Subtle Frame, Gagosipo Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2019

ASYAAF (Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival), Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Seoul, Korea

The 4th New Drawing Project, Yangju Chang Ucchin Museum of Art, Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

2018

Into Fantasy, Gallery TAM, TOM N TOMS Black Itaewon, Seoul, Korea

KIMI for You 2018, KIMI Art, Seoul, Korea

A Joyful Beginning," Heesoo Gallery, Seoul, Korea

2017

Art Gyeonggi: Deep and Profound Mind, Bellacitta, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Affordable Art Fair Singapore, F1 Pit Building, Singapore

Long Live Artists, Nemo Gallery, Blue Square, Seoul, Korea

2016

Print Think 2016, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Gwanghwamun International Art Festival: Asian Young Artists Exhibition, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul, Korea

Activities

Selected Cover Artwork for the 2024 New Year's Greeting Card of Kyobo Life Insurance CEO 

Artwork Featured in the Disney+ Drama Rookie Cops

Artwork Featured in the tvN Drama A Piece of Your Mind

Resident Artist, Cultural Railway 959, 2nd Cohort, Guro Cultural Foundation, Seoul, Korea 

Selected for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Government Art Bank Collection

Selected for Artwork Acquisition, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation Art Vaccine Project 

Honorable Mention, 55th Gyeonggi Art Competition

Art Collections

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Government Art Bank, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, TOM N TOMS Cultural Business Division, Suho Gallery, The Original Home Gallery, Gallery Insa Art, Seojin Art Space, Suwol Korean Medicine Hospital, Daegu Suseong Branch, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Pusan National University Hospital, Private Collection of Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Keum, etc