South Korean painter Yeonseo Hong guides us gently to the comforting and familiar space of home. “Home is a blessed place where everything is fulfilled,” she says. “A small place where one can dream the most.” The search for the home has characterized Hong’s life and art from the very beginning. Born into a large family, Hong was sent to live with her grandmother as a small child. She cherishes the happy memories she formed in those years and recreates these moments for us through her paintings. As such, Hong’s work is a journey back to the maternal womb–peppered with simply shaped, universally recognizable objects objects reminiscent of her childhood, like a jar of sweets, a birthday cake, a balloon–all lovingly set against the pattern of her grandmother’s quilts. Time and space assume an evanescent fluidity, as inner and outer boundaries collapse, and the objects float placidly in the amniotic liquid of Hong’s nurturing cocoons.
Hong earned a BA in Furniture Design from Sangmyung University and an MA in Art History and Archeology from SOAS University of London. She also studied at the Hampstead School of Art and obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Painting from the Chelsea College of Art, both in London. Hong had a solo exhibition at the Hakgojae Art Center in Seoul and participated in group shows in London, Moscow, and South Korea.
