Mint Paradise Painting

Artist, Painter HyunJu Kim ‘Fruits Paradise’was created from my desire for an abundant world and my longing for making the impossible possible. It is the space which may correspond to the Peach-Blossom Garden of the oriental or a Paradise of the occidental. It is a place abundance which everyone dreams of.‘Aspiration’to escape from an insipid daily life;‘Imagination’induced from the aspiration, and;‘Desire’of a man longing for a rest and a happy life. Fruits, which often refer to‘freshness and life’, are, in my paintings, the projection of the aforesaid 3 factors. That is why the fruits in Fruits Paradise are fresher and more splendid than any other fruits in the secular world, and that is why they brightly glitters. Fruits Paradise is the place filled with vibrant energy of life pouring out from our never-ending aspiration and desire. It is my wish that all viewers of my paintings shall ‘take a rest and play around at’ Fruits Paradise, filled with the vibrant energy, while imagining the freshness pouring out from a bite of these lush fruits in my works. Creation of Fruits Paradise ‘Fruits Paradise’series is rooted on Korean traditional paintings not only in the respect of psychological basis, but also in the respect of inspiration and way of creation. As I was majoring in oriental painting, I have taken courses related to Korean traditional paintings including the History of Oriental Painting, the History of Korean Painting, and the Oriental Aesthetics. These courses made me proud of Korean traditional paintings, as well as made me question myself what the aesthetical value of Korea in true sense would be. The answer that I came up so far is that what is genuinely Korean is the most global. Hence, I truly enjoy appreciating old paintings of Korea, and the Korean traditional paintings also have given me a lot of idea and inspiration. Accordingly, applying‘Jeon-Tong-Jin-Chae (Korean traditional colouring)’method, with which Korean traditional materials are used and traditional colouring techniques are followed, is one of important factors of my works. Smooth and clean silk is selected, and mounted on a wooden frame.‘Gyobansu (solution of traditional hide glue and alum)’ was made via sophisticated and tricky process, and applied on the front and back of the silk over and over more than 10 times to make an adequate foundation for painting.