B. Seoul, South Korea

Lives and works in PA

 

Yeonhye Park is a multidisciplinary visual artist who explores the complexity of human emotions through a diverse range of media, including two-dimensional paintings, cut-out portraits, ceramics, and sculpture. Her work is conceptually informed by a synthesis of global art traditions and her unique technical background.

 

Park’s extensive artistic background is distinguished by its blend of rigorous contemporary study and traditional mastery. She holds two master's degrees: an MFA in Drawing and Painting from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Mural Art from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China, following her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Dong-Guk University in South Korea. A unique foundation of her practice is a three-year apprenticeship in Korean Traditional Mural painting under Master Craftsman Jin-kyung Lee, seamlessly integrating classical techniques with her contemporary vision.

 

Park has exhibited her work internationally at prestigious venues, including the Nanjing International Biennale, the Youth Art Biennale at the Today Art Museum (今日美术馆), the Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Kwan-Hoon Gallery. Her exhibitions span across South Korea, China, and the United States. Park currently maintains her studio practice in State College, Pennsylvania.

 

To request a full CV, use the email parkyeonhye.art@gmail.com

​

​​

​

Education

 

Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2022         

Master of Fine Arts in Mural Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts (中央美术学院), China, 2014 

-Research Paper- “Research on Human Unconscious Based on Jungian Analytical Psychology: An Analysis of Louise Bourgeois's Drawings”

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art • Bachelor of Arts in Buddhist Philosophy, Dong-Guk University, South Korea, 2010

​

​​​​

​

Artist Statement

​

As I have traversed the earth, I traverse identities and memories in my practice. I extract empathic symbolic vessels from my unconscious perceptions, exploring an understanding of life amidst shifting realities. My expression aims to visualize the visceral connection between my inner world and my surroundings. By capturing the lingering feelings from different times, attitudes, and senses of self, I find solace and freedom. I weave fragments of memory to understand my conscious experience and unconscious impression imparted by circumstance.  The choice of an artistic vessel for capturing abstract feelings, whether subtle or profound, relies on the intended metaphor. I sublimate human complexity, gathered and experienced throughout life, into my art practice. My expression serves as an autobiographical record, as I parse and transform my perceptions into biomorphic, architectural, and surreal symbology.

 

While exploring different mediums, I grow in and out of comfort with materials, realizing what is the most authentic expression of my ruminations. Through an interdisciplinary approach, I create unique, harmonious dialogue in my art. In my expression, I have drawn profound influence from the realm of analytic psychology. Diving introspectively, I discover archetypes of my unconscious mind, pieces to the puzzle of my identity. Seizing moments from past experiences and piecing them together with 2D and 3D media is a natural extension of my conscious and subconscious. My latest series, Memory Loop, evokes nostalgia for my childhood and reflects personal growth, juxtaposing paintings with ceramic frames. While fundamentally framing the paintings, my ceramic frames extend the narrative beyond the canvas. The combination of painting and ceramic frame conceptually crystallizes my memories, mimicking the assembling of remembrance. Ultimately, the organic representation evokes a duality, calling into question the indefinite perspective of living memory.

 

Memory is a crucial component of my art expression, and the evolution of perception is a metamorphosis of form, color, and texture in my mind. I find myself drawn to the transitions of memories depending on the conditions of my inner world. Despite my inclination toward introspection, I am cautious and at times hesitant. Whether I position myself as subject or observer, I recognize the biases of my past and present. I dismantle these moments and identities, and with the pieces, I am able to build the puzzle that is my reality, my history. Through assembling paintings and sculptural frames together, I cement my mental journey with physical process, creating monuments of my history.