Chung Park

My work represents sensitivities to place and memory. This inquiry led me to hanji—traditional handmade Korean paper—in 2014 while living in Korea. The versatility and richness of the material provided insight into my relationship with my birthplace (Seoul, Korea). Experimentation with hanji established an important part of my artistic identity, and in the last two years the work evolved from material explorations to find place to manifestations of spatial depth and light to evoke a haunting yet warming sense of tranquility.

The subtle dissonance that exists in between reflects a kind of displacement felt in my personal experience as a first generation Korean American. Hanji articulates this perspective literally—finding creative refuge by exploring a Korean material and applying it in an American context.

Biography

Chung Park is a Korean-born American artist currently in Fayetteville as an MFA candidate at the University of Arkansas. Previously located in Los Angeles, Park joined the GYOPO, a collective of diasporic Korean arts professionals and cultural producers. His work uses traditional Korean paper making techniques to construct abstract compositions. His drawings have been shown nationally and internationally and featured in several publications.