Sung Yeon-Hwa (b. 1986) is an emerging artist from South Korea who captures the essence of tranquility and meditative silence in her abstract and reduced paintings. After graduating from the Faculty of Calligraphy at Keimyung College in Daegu, the artist studied modern abstract calligraphy in Japan and has since been developing the various expressive methods of hanji and calligraphy into her own unique artistic language.
Sung’s works are characterized by a harmonious balance between empty space and carefully placed lines and shapes. She uses a subtle and earthy color palette, often dominated by neutral and muted tones. For her works, the artist uses handmade Korean hanji paper, which she first processes with a stone to create texture. Then the paper is burned with incense in a rectangular shape and then placed onto the canvas.
She then applies the pigments layer by layer to the hanji using the traditional “medium color technique”, followed by acrylic paint and a coating of kerosene to enhance the color depth. In some works, she then draws long, thin abstract lines with a calligraphy brush. Once these lines are set, they cannot be changed – a symbolic gesture that represents the final act of completing the work. (watch this short video of her working process )
Sung Yeon-Hwa believes in the narrative power of abstract painting and uses her art to tell her own story. Her works are shaped by childhood memories – slow, quiet and fulfilling moments. In her reduced compositions, she captures these quiet moments from the past and brings them back to life. Each of her works is thus a tribute to these analog moments and experiences, which are often lost in today’s hectic and modern digitalized world.
Her paintings invite intense contemplation, revealing a deeply personal yet universal story. Through her unique working process and intuitive understanding of materiality, she captures these fleeting but precious moments of life in an artistic and aesthetic way.
In order to visualize the feeling of “peace”, I have tried to capture all the moments and memories in which I have experienced this feeling.
Sung Yeon-Hwa
