featured artists
The park as portrait
Discover a world of calm, color, and quiet strength with artist, Yujin Son
In Yujin Son’s imagined parklands, birds gather, plants flourish, ponds shimmer, and a female figure, modeled after the artist herself, moves quietly through the spaces in between. At first glance, these works appear as tranquil scenes of coexistence. Beneath the surface, however, lies a deeper dialogue about identity, memory, and the ever-shifting relationship between the individual and the external world.
Yujin’s landscapes are shaped by the natural environment of her hometown, Jeju. Known for its beauty and booming tourism, Jeju has long been a site of tension between ecological preservation and economic development. In her painted parks, the blending of migratory and resident birds, invasive and native species becomes a metaphor for how we navigate personal and collective identities; forever negotiating a sense of belonging along the way.
The female figure transcends symbolism to become a conduit for resistance against fixed roles and stereotypes. As the central protagonist, she guides the narrative beyond environmental or social commentary, asking how we define and protect the boundaries of the self. Yujin’s time studying abroad deepened this inquiry. Experiencing cultural intersections and dissonance in diverse communities, she began to reflect more intently on how identity is shaped by both external pressures and internal evolution.
Her creative process begins outdoors, sketching freely with oil pastels on portable linen. These spontaneous drawings, often made in nature or on the street, lay the emotional and compositional groundwork for her paintings. Back in the studio, she layers them with oil paint, translating immediacy into intention. This rhythm of movement and reflection echoes the themes of memory, transformation, and emotional continuity that define her work.
Oil pastels bring a rawness and freedom to her practice, capturing the fluidity of thought and feeling in a way that is both tactile and expressive. They reflect a life lived with curiosity and a refusal to be confined by convention. Through this method, nature, color, and emotion coalesce, allowing her to communicate not just what is seen, but what is felt over time.
Yujin invites viewers into a world where external landscapes mirror internal states. In these quiet sanctuaries, the self is observed, questioned, and ultimately embraced. Her work becomes an act of reclamation and a way to see oneself and others not as fixed, but as part of a larger and constantly shifting ecology of experience.
