Page 8 - 손홍숙 작가 화집 1983-2020

Summery of HONG-SOOK SOHN’s Art History

Ki-Woong Park (Ph.D of Fine Arts, Former Professor of Hongik University)

Since early 1980s the artist Sohn has started to draw various trees, including flowers and fruits, those are inspired by the breathe of nature
from her daily living. Then, her main subject is not only to paint the fine trees, fir trees, and white birches but, also it should be to create a
full-forest in the art works. Through the positive brilliant power from the clear nature and land, the artist has created more mild and fresh
art pieces. These art works are prolonged to until now, and be the <white birches>, <water lilies> and <fruition(harvest)> series. with day
by day hard work. The artistic skills are developed from: firstly oriental white & black color, secondly oil color painting and acrylic painting,
finally they are new artistic combination skills. Further, to be developed from the Korean landscape to the relationship in-between Nature
and Human-beings, recently it is moved ahead grew as the skill of the triple combination of metal plate, special material and grinding skills.
And I can call it the new 2nd Dimensional art <Nature and I> series. Therefore, with explaining several selected art works, I would like to
summarize the stream line of the artist's working history.

< Oriental Painting >
From 1983 to 1991, the term of oriental painting era; the artist mainly uses the subject of 10 long live subject, fine trees, swallows, water
lilies, a couple of mandarin ducks, cranes, the four gracious plants (plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum) and rocks, and develops the
delicate expression. For example, in the art work <Swallows>, using the water & black inking skill, she creates mild black and white painting
by thick and thin brushes. In the art work <a couple of Mandarin ducks>, under the shadow from the leaves of water lilies, a couple of the
lovely birds are taking rest, and so is reputed as the very peaceful and natural art work. In the art, the leaves of water lilies are drawn very
toughly by heavy brush strokes, torn edges and several holes are, so is seen as our parents who are protecting their descendants from
dangerous hard storming; however to be the contrast from them, the happy birds are enjoying peace safely. In the art work <Peacock>,
drawn in between real landscape and still life, especially the edge forest is looking as if mild still-life; looking-sky peacock is very meditative
and elegant. In the art work <Cranes>, nine birds are doing various motions: such as elegantly fold wings or freely taking rest. In the art work
<Flowers perfume & Bird sings>, as the subject describes, despite just a bird sparrow is singing and takes a pleasure with the dialogue of the
flowers. In case of the art work <Hard & busy to get food>, it metaphors the hard daily living that the several bees are taking honey from the
flowers diligently.

Regarding these several examples, the artist shows the taoist meditative free humorous skills with the feeling of romanticism. In the era, she
takes special Chinese painting (detail lessons) from the master Chen when she is living in Manila, Philippines. After his death, she receives
special free-style lessons from the master Hau. And then, she begins various experimentations with studying the good and weakness of the
oriental and western style paintings.

Basically, from subject of the four gracious plants(plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum), she exercises the various kind of paper based
paintings, such as painting on the ready color based paper. As a result, creating mysterious artistic methods in between represent and
abstract, those are from like water & ink to free brush stroke, and finally the free-style art arises. The method is to draw on the ready formed
wrinkles of intentionally fold to unfold papers, so is a kind of experimentation of meeting oriental calligraphy and western destruction skills.

Further arguably, the artist exercises to draw on the silk, that is the plaza of unification of delicate inking and coloring on the delicate soft
clothes. After this, she has exercised full-fledged various oriental to western painting skills. Since 2008 she begins to exercise from oil on
canvas to mixed media at the same time. I would like to explain this terms of art works as follows:

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