The Ocean Knows (how you got here) Print

Through her Parisian café paintings, Gina Son captures the quiet poetry of women in moments of light and reflection. A Korean-American artist shaped by life across continents, she reinterprets French Impressionism with a contemporary heart—painting the shared affinities that connect us all. Gina Son is a Korean-American painter who reinterprets the women’s images in French Impressionism through a contemporary, cross-cultural lens. Based in Austin, Texas, she has lived and worked in Paris, Rome, London, Tokyo, Seoul, Santorini, and Honolulu, drawing inspiration from the cafés, streets, and people that define each city’s rhythm and charm. Her paintings often center on Parisian café scenes—capturing the fleeting moments of women amid the interplay of light, architecture, and emotion. Inspired by Impressionist masters such as Renoir, Degas, and Monet, as well as Van Gogh, Chagall, Cassatt, and Sargent, Gina’s work explores femininity, reflection, and the quiet poetry of everyday life. Being artistically inclined since age five, she continued to excel in art and won the National Scholastic Gold Key Award in Hawaii during high school. She later earned a master’s degree in International Relations, reflecting her lifelong fascination with people, culture, and communication. Fluent in four languages, she brings a sense of global understanding and emotional depth to her art—each painting becoming a bridge between cultures. She has held a number of solo art exhibitions in Seoul and participated in group exhibitions in Honolulu. Gina’s work celebrates humanity and connection—the warmth of shared moments, the beauty of solitude, and the resilience of joy. She hopes her art reminds viewers that even after life’s rain, the promise of color and connection always returns.