Yea Ji Park

Korean sculptor Yea Ji Park, working between South Korea and France, explores human relationships and communication through welded metal. For the artist, communication begins with the act of making itself. The process of welding—joining, building, and shaping metal—is already a way of reaching out and connecting.

Her sculptures use simple, abstract horse forms and lines that act like a visual language. These forms do not give fixed answers. Instead, they open a space where the viewer can feel connection, distance, or misunderstanding. The work invites the viewer to take part in this process of communication.

The material itself plays an important role. Steel carries weight, tension, and traces of heat. The marks of welding remain visible, showing how the work was made. These physical qualities help express emotion and relationship, making each sculpture feel like a living state rather than a closed object.

This approach is connected to the Korean word “mal,” which means both horse and speech. By working with this double meaning, Park connects form and language, using sculpture as a way to speak without words.

At the age of 12, the artist decided to pursue studies in France after encountering an image of a horse in a French history book. This decision led to completing all formal education in France until the age of 22. The artist graduated from École Boulle with a Brevet de Technicien Supérieur (BTS) in Design d’Espace, receiving a Mention for a conceptual renovation project of the Longchamp Racecourse.

After returning to Korea, the artist began learning welding at a tuning car workshop and further developed both theoretical knowledge and practical skills through a government-funded training program. Since then, welding has evolved beyond a technical skill into the artist’s primary sculptural language, which continues to define the practice today.

Since 2017, Yea ji Park has presented more than ten solo exhibitions and over forty group shows in galleries, and art spaces across South Korea. Her work has also been featured in more than fifteen art fairs in Asia, including the Affordable Art Fair Singapore, Hong Kong, Harbor Art Fair in Hong Kong, Tianhe Art Museum in China, and in Seoul and Busan. In 2024, Park’s sculptures were shown in France at Maison d’art Laurence Pustetto in Libourne expanding her practice to a wider international audience.