Eternal Moments: Jungwoo Hong
Seojung Art Busan presents Eternal Moments, a comprehensive overview of Jungwoo Hong’s artistic world from March 7 to April 13, showcasing both his latest creations and signature works released between 2019 and 2024. This exhibition centers on The Beautiful Days series, alongside other notable works such as The Landscapes Remembered in the Body and a matter irrelevant to you. Small works capturing fleeting moments and expansive narrative series are arranged in striking contrast, offering viewers the opportunity to contemplate both the isolated fragments and the full tapestry of life through variations in scale and story.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said that life can be a comedy or a tragedy, depending on how we stage it. Nietzsche’s insight, which likens life to a grand theater, resonates deeply with Jungwoo Hong’s artistic exploration of existence. His canvases embrace both the comedy and tragedy inherent in life, and his ability to transform even the most sorrowful moments into expressions of affirmation and vitality opens up fresh perspectives for the audience.
The heart of Eternal Moments—The Beautiful Days series—captures traces of love, hope, and the myriad emotions Hong has discovered within the complex narrative of life. His works are not the result of a meticulously pre-planned process; rather, his canvases are naturally composed, flowing with the emotions and memories born of each moment. This organic approach evokes Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophical notion that equates emotions with truth. Although his compositions may appear as spontaneous as a scribble, they contain messages that resonate deeply, stirring human intuition and evoking profound reflection.
The Beautiful Days series transcends mere abstraction by delving into images that, though uncertain, possess a discernible form. This journey reflects the essence of human existence and reveals our innate drive to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity with optimism in everyday life. Drawing inspiration from the graffiti on neighborhood walls of his childhood, Jungwoo Hong employs a repetitive technique of layering and scraping off paint and varnish. His creative process, an accumulation of time and emotion, results in canvases brimming with symbolic, intuitive images reminiscent of ancient murals or pictograms. These images extend beyond simple visual pleasure, conveying enduring traces of memory and existence to the viewer.
Jean-Paul Sartre said that our existence is a succession of moments, yet these very moments, when gathered, create the grand theater of life. Likewise, Jungwoo Hong’s work captures eternity within fleeting instants, illustrating how individual experiences can expand into a universal narrative. His art transcends mere visual enjoyment, inviting viewers to reflect on their own lives and offering them the opportunity to rediscover the meaning of existence through the bittersweet beauty of art.
The exhibition space is designed not merely as a venue for viewing art, but as a stage where the memories and emotions of the audience resonate, giving rise to new narratives. In this space, visitors are invited to recall their own The Beautiful Days [or “The Beautiful Days”] and embark on a philosophical journey where art and life converge through the intimate messages embedded within each piece.
Through the process by which fragments of moments coalesce into the vast narrative of life, Eternal Moments revives the notion of The Beautiful Days that each of us can uncover within our lives, offering a profound opportunity for reflection and emotional connection through art. Jungwoo Hong’s artistic realm not only unveils new insights into memory and existence for its audience but also reaffirms the universal and potent power of art.
