Page 9 - 이화진 개인전 2024. 12. 4 – 12. 12 아르떼 숲

사랑의 꿈 Dream of Love 90.7 x 73cm, Mixed Media on Canvas

- Artist's Note -

Since childhood, I have loved the flowers blooming in the fields, the reed beds, and watching the sky filled with clouds,
stars, and the moon. I was captivated by Renoir's <Girl with a Watering Can> when I was young, and that fascination
sparked a lifelong journey in painting. Since elementary school, I participated in various art competitions and won awards.
One of my paintings even received the Minister of Education Award and was featured in a textbook, which was a great
joy for me. Throughout my life, I have found it challenging to express my thoughts, feelings, and life experiences through
words, but I have felt a deep joy in expressing them through painting. Art became my ultimate reason for living, as if
it were the only language I needed. Classical music and nature became friends and sources of comfort in my life, and
together with my faith, art has been a pillar that lifted me through life’s hardships.

In the early days of holding exhibitions, I focused on realistic still lifes and landscapes in watercolor, but I soon lost
interest in mere depiction. I turned toward semi-abstract art, occasionally exploring complete abstraction, though I found
that figurative elements helped facilitate communication with the audience. Having lived to the age of eighty, now I find
there are many things I have come to accept in life, yet some memories remain indelible. Thus, thoughts of transcending
life and death often come to mind, but feelings of nostalgia, longing, and regret remain just as profound.
Through my paintings, I write poetry. At times, my expressions are spontaneous; at other times, they are refined. I
shape flowers as symbols of nature’s beauty and vitality, the moon as a symbol of the cosmos, pyramids to represent
humanity's desire for eternity, and use icons to capture emotions like love and the human experience. As I create, I find
myself immersed in that world. I hope my art can offer, even in the smallest way, a moment of respite and solace, inviting
viewers to step away from the demands and fatigue of life for a brief space of rest and reflection.
- December 2024, Hwa Jin Lee -
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