End of September last year (2017), I met up with my Singapore based art buddy, Jazz Chong of Ode to Art Gallery and her charming architect husband, Edmund Ng in Seoul, S. Korea to attend the 16th Korean International Art Fair (KIAF). Our lovely hosts in Seoul, Joanne and Steven Choi were so kind to drive an hour outside of Seoul to take us to visit Lee Jung Woong’s riverside studio.
We arrived around dusk and pulled up in front of this monstrous stone building. Quite the contrast to what I had been expecting. (I’m actually not sure what I was expecting, though the average artist studio can be a bit messy and stinky) I was so impressed by Mr. Woong’s monument to his art, it is definitely in parallel to his works’ attention to space and detail. This was not just an artist studio, but a home, cafe AND exhibition space.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee came outside to greet us and immediately urged us to go to patio at the back of the building overlooking the river. The sun had just set behind the mountains and the sky glowed a pale pink blue tint that washed over the river. It was quite a breathtaking sight and I can see how this can be a constant source of inspiration for any artist.
After a few moments breathing in the country air, we went back inside and I was again wowed by the professional museum level exhibition space where some of Lee Jung Woong’s best works are displayed.
He is probably best known his ink paintings on Korean rice paper with a photorealistic rendering of a paint brush. The first time I saw his works at Jazz’s house in Singapore, I thought it was an old paint brush stuck to a canvas. I actually walked up to the painting and touched it to make sure (😬🤭🤫).
Here is a picture from Ode to Art’s website of Lee Jung Woong laying down the ink strokes for the background of one of his paintings. (or is he just holding a brush up to the painting? 🤔) And once the initial ink painting dries, he carefully and meticulously renders the image of a paint brush in oil paint on top of the original painting. His use of eastern and western art making techniques in contrast to each other speaks volumes to his understanding of art and art history. Using a western technique to portray the eastern brush of an eastern painting as an illusion of a tangible object sparks much lively discourse with many interpretations.
Knowing the background of his art, we next walked upstairs to his studio. I was wowed again! For a guy who has so many big huge energetic ink stokes and splatters in his artwork, his studio was immaculate. Rolls of rice paper carefully stored. Piles of works in progress. On the back wall hung a row of paint brushed carefully organized from small to large.
We retreated back to the patio for coffee and tea. We soaked in the last bit of light before dark and chitchatted about life. I’m so thankful for friends, last minute decisions to visit Korea and impromptu art studio visits. 🙏🏼
