One View of the Korean Art Scene in Chicago

by Tristan JM Hummel

Note: This is a part of the Global Art Scene in Chicago Series.

The cultural climate here in Chicago, as the unique art environment it is, gives rise to many interesting phenomenon.  From apartment galleries to the Co-Prosperity Sphere, the expression of an alternative art style is strong and growing.  We should all be thankful that this city provides us artists with such a blank canvas.  One group of artists has found that this canvas offers a perfect platform to stage their art endeavors, and helps to create a conversation between their heritage and contemporary art practice.

Korean artists, a stylish and sagacious group, have taken root here in the Midwest looking for grounds to assert their inborn artistic tendencies over the principles of tradition.  Chicago offers a perfect location for this exploration.

Chicago is a laboratory for the arts.  Ideas are nurtured here, played out, and experimented with before going out to other, larger, art hubs.  Chicago is a mature arts city but it is also an art-neutral city as it is not yet a major focus in the national art scene.  This is exactly what the Korean-American artists here find is Chicago’s greatest strength. The Chicago art community acts as their safe-haven, as a territory where art philosophy and design can be engaged full scale without the severity a national focus can create.

Take Ji-Soo Hong,  Ji-Soo is a promising young painter in this city enjoying the art-neutrality.  “In Chicago I can explore the traditions of painting [practice] while breaking them.  I can make ‘bad moves’ to produce a formally good painting” -Ji-Soo.  Ji-Soo came over to the United States as a five-year-old when her parents, in pursuit of the popular American dream, sought a life of opportunity.

Surrounded by the traditional Korean instruction on art, Ji-Soo remembers being confused by her first encounter with Cézanne.  She had been told there was only one way to draw, that representation was locked into one form.  The works of Cezanne showed her something else.

Eventually, finding the abstract world of painting was the key to furthering her work.  Following her desires to paint more abstractly, Ji-Soo came to Chicago and began looking to artists like Philip Guston for inspiration.

Walking the line between cultural birthright and abstract expressionism is a challenging exercise for any artist.  At home Ji-Soo received little support for her abstract tendencies.  Work shown to peers that was considered untraditional was ridiculed.  Because of this Ji-Soo often felt removed from the other Korean-American artists in her community.  Chicago is the perfect “market”, as Ji-Soo describes it for her explorations.  Here she feels she is free to make the work she wants to.

Another Korean artist  Julie Na, agrees with Ji-Soo on the benefits of Chicago to her art.  Julie believes that Chicago is more accessible to Korean-American artists because simply “[Chicago] allows for the kind of art making you want to make.”  It allows artists to embrace their cultural backgrounds while translating those backgrounds into a contemporary form.

If Chicago is a communication point for traditional and contemporary practices it is no surprise we find such great ethnic diversity among the artists here.  The Korean artists are themselves very similar to their work, a mix of old world values and an American education.

Editors Note: Also be sure to check out:

Prak-sis, a group (predominantly Korean) that organizes non-venue specific exhibits. Be sure to go see their next exhibit, opening on Jan. 15 (see flier above, click to enlarge).