“I won’t just start painting and I won’t just put down the brush”

▲ Artist Cho Yeon-joo

Artist Cho Yeon-joo is famous for her use of outstanding formativeness, kaleidoscopic line and colors and geometric figures that break the borders between reality and imagination. Cho’s works seem abstract yet she laid out colors aggressively to gain instant properties. Cho dreamed of becoming an artist but unwillingly went to a commercial high school due to her hard-up parents who had to raise 7 sons and daughters. Not giving up her dream, she learned the painting from an artist father of her friend time to time and eventually made for an art college. She married after graduation and ran an art academy in Seoul before moving down to Yangpyeong County. She had her first solo exhibition in 2015. “I think painting should change time to time to avoid mannerism. And the mannerism can be overcome by delivering daily sentiment onto the canvas and the sentiment then can be shared with the people when completed” says Cho. She finds subjects for her work from parasol to deer and fox in the county to imaginary doors. Parasol in particular attracts her attention since the object reminds of her peace and something spiritual. “Drawing like real is a matter of choice but they often give me an impression of well-painted works without much sympathy. This is the reason I brought up the imaginary door symbolizing the journey of our lives where we enter in and out.” Cho remembers an episode at the Rha Hye Suk Grand Art Exhibition in 2016: she had to deliver her large work on the roof of her car to Suwon City; the work was wrinkled thanks to the wind but the work was selected nevertheless which made her feeling overwhelming. Currently, Cho is a member of the Yangpeyong Fine Arts Association and teaching art at Danwol Middle School and Gyeonggi English Village Yangpyeong Camp. She values more of expressing one’s own emotion than drawing nicely and encourages students with this value. When asked about future plan, Cho said that she would display her work at an overseas exhibition one day. Meanwhile, she is working to prepare for her third solo exhibition at the moment; the exhibition is expected to be held at The Yongmunsan Museum. 

Note: <Power Korea> ‘rewrites’ Korean article into ‘plain English’