▲ Baek Soon-im

The difference between photos and paintings is that the artist re-creates the scene with a unique view rather than printing the image as it is. For this reason, some say that painting in a way arouse a spiritual world. Talking of a spiritual world, it is worth mentioning artist Baek Soon-im who is also known as a ‘meditation artist’. Baek explains her art as to summon the meditational world onto the world of canvas.
Entering her studio in Samgakji, Yongsan District, Seoul, you might feel a calm and neat layout of the space that emits energy of meditation. Watching her works can create certain atmosphere that she might be a hermit artist living in her own world completely cutting off from the worldly affairs. 

“Why are they called meditation painting? The work of painting, or conveying what an artist has in mind to the canvas, is done quietly without the necessity of speaking. In this sense, paintings are very meditative. Nevertheless, what is the reason that my paintings are specifically called meditation paintings? That’s because I want to share meditation with my paintings. A mountain comes to have a legend when a person like a cloud lives there, not because the mountain is high. Like the mountain, I hope my paintings will contain transparent spirit of meditation” says Baek. 

Oriental paintings have valued more of spiritual expression than realistic depiction; the light gets anew and silence pays a visit through picturing creator’s own inner world onto canvas. In this respect, Baek’s works are faithfully passing down the tradition of Korean paintings. 

Her series works ‘Mandara in Dew’ and ‘Gosokjeong’ are themed on nature. She reproduced stability and satisfaction nature gives us onto the canvas by using meditation and communication as two effective tools. Many of those who appreciated her works gave her the praise ‘heartwarming’, and she has built a reputation among the art circles home and abroad based on this positive response through numerous exhibitions:

Baek wowed many visitors at the 2016 France-Korea Modern Art Invitational Exhibition, the 2017 France Louvre Museum Exhibition (Art Pavillon), and the solo exhibition at the 2018 Invitation to Virgil America LA. At the invitational meditation exhibition held at Las Vegas Conference Center on Asian Culture Day, Baek, especially observed eye sticking attention of the visitors to her works and felt overwhelmed. 

The worldwide level of her activities also has brought her a number of prizes with 5 of them alone in the US: Certificate of Appreciation from the Family Education and Empowerment Foundation, Certificate of Appreciation from the AAG, Certificate of Special Congressional Commendation at Congressmoman Dina Titus, Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Jacky Rosen of Nevada Third District, and Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Ruben J. Kihuen. 

The winning of these prizes listed her name in the global star artists group. She is opening the year 2019 with a scheduled exhibition at Gallery SinSang, Insa-dong, Seoul, from 10 to 20 January followed by an exhibition in Tajikistan in March and another one at a festival in Taiwan. 

Baek liked meditation since she was young. The act of grabbing a brush for her is an act of meditation in a way. Meditation is a state of mind of purity and transcendence. What makes Baek unique is that she realized this state of mind onto the canvas. Her recent works show a new approach to composition alongside the traditional landscape paintings; the works seem to comfort the mind of appreciators and lead them to a new world with vividness. And Baek is pushing forward this of her unique art world through continuous try and development with never ending passion in art and meditation.