Lyrical Abstract Artist

My life’s experience has been filled with observations of multicultural experiences due to frequent moves in life. My journey began in a small town called Sanju, South Korea where I spent most of my youth. I moved to Seoul, the big capital city of South Korea, where I began my college years. When I got married, my family moved to Los Angeles, California in the United States of America. We then had to relocate to San Francisco when my husband decided to continue to study there. Later, we moved to Seattle to start up his ministry. Finally, my journey ended in El Paso, Texas. These numerous moves and their unsettling experiences have allowed me to encounter various cultures and traditions first hand and helped me to have a deeper understanding of how it is conceivable for these cultures to coexist. In addition, I came to the realization that my adaptation to these coexisting cultures has provided multiple platforms to depict different dreams and portray opposing realities in my painted works. As a result, often these experiences resonate and manifest themselves in my work.

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Observation of diverse cultures and resulting adjustment in my life’s experiences has provided important elements and the creative spark for my work. For example, I am a Korean immigrant who currently resides in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood in the El Paso suburbs. I refer to myself as a Korean-American because I had to adjust and adapt to new traditions, new values, and a new language. Yet, I still believe that I hold many traditions and values that are true to Koreans. However, I feel out of place at times because when I’m with Americans, I’m so Korean. My identity tends to shift and overlap, which strongly affects the imagery of my work.