CHOI YEONG-GEOL (Korean, B. 1968)

Choi Yeong-geol pours all the profound musings of religion, humanity, and nature into his paintings in order to investigate into a higher spirituality. The artist endeavours to integrate all things in existence into a single entity by presenting us with scenes after scenes of landscapes. These compositions are akin to the fleeting quality of photography. Lyric of Autumn Waterfall (Lot 153) offers a dramatically different landscape - the abundant colours of nature are reduced to red and orange. This use of duotone signals a Minimalistic inclination. Choi Yeong-geol abandoned the three archetypal perspectives in traditional Asian landscape painting. The spatial composition is interrupted by the tall mountain ranges. Moreover, the detachment from realistic depiction gives the subject matter a sense of mystery and mysticism as if it is a riddle waiting to be unravelled. Nature is thus transcended into a paranormal phenomenon. Between the realistic and the unrealistic, Choi Yeong-geol reveals the endless wonders of nature and humans' pursuit of comprehending the spirituality of the natural world. Choi Yeong-geol's superb naturalistic depiction produced the stunning early autumn landscape of Root of Ese (Lot 154). The scantily remaining blades of green grass are very conspicuous on the withered land. The dead grasses strike a stark contrast with the branches of the robust pine tree. The high degree of realism in this painting draws the viewers in with the infectious power of nature. The swallow rests on top of a branch, a tiger seeks shade underneath the pine, and a sheep grazes in front of it. The prevailing air of tranquility and benevolence is a metaphor for the artist's vision of a world where all things coexist in peace. At the same time, it also speaks of the gaping chasm between this ideal and the reality in which we live.