▲ Ink and wash painting artist Kweon Soon-jae aka Yeojung

From tradition to modernity
The works of ink and wash painting artist Kweon Soon-jae are full of realism. Some say that her works are bold in composition and smooth and vivid in taste. Her representative work <Ulsan Rock> in particular is famous for delivering delicate brushworks on mountains and rocks of Seorak Mountain and the work is often praised for maximizing pictorial depth of the Korean landscapes. “Kweon enlivened the realism of ink and wash paintings by overcoming the traditional brushwork yet its unique spirit intact. She passed down the tradition with her own creative style. I conceive that she has spent a considerable amount of time in keeping the authenticity of the genre while at the same time exerted to create her unique style in modern sense” says an art critic Lee Gu-yeol. 

Nature is where we find a piece of comfort 
In broad terms, Kweon pursues realistic landscape paintings, ink and wash, and mukohcahe (colored ink). Object-wise, she enjoys mountains and waterfalls more. She likes traveling and climbing and takes photos of breathtaking sceneries. She then shifts the digital images onto analogue materials such as paper and canvas with a brush. The solo exhibition held at the Gongpyeong Art Center was a collective display of her works gathered from these frequent traveling and climbing of almost all famous mountains in South Korea including Halla Mountain on Jeju Island. “People gather around cities for convenience and fun. As time goes by, they grow a feeling of wanting to see more nature and this is so natural since we are part of nature. I’m no different from this crowd. The only difference is that I shift the beauty of nature into a form of art works. So I just hope that city dwellers who see my works find a piece of comfort, and feel refreshed.” 

▲ 울산바위

From a normal housewife to an artist
Kweon used to live a normal life as a housewife. It was when her son started to learn calligraphy that she grew her interest in traditional Korean art. In fact, she liked painting very much since she was her son’s age but had to give up due to her bleak family situation. Now the fire was re-ignited, she took a course at cultural center and pushed forward her passion for the next 10 years without looking back. She continued her study at Hongik University Continuing Education of Art and Culture thereafter and raised her technique to a considerable level. “Thinking back, the thick lines and empty spaces of my works resemble my life. And I feel comforted whenever I grab my brush. I can say that painting is the haven of my life. For the moment, I’m expecting a group exhibition of Mokwoohoe this November and am preparing for my next solo exhibition afterwards to continue my passion in art.” If you are an art lover, especially of oriental paintings, you are highly recommended to pay a visit to her exhibitions.