gallery joeun

An artist puts together the history of Western art in his/her own manner. As the words of Jill Deleuze - a representative philosopher of the late 20th century – an artist must create works to overcome the traces and influences of the previous era and unravel the present and future of the current art. Should he be caught up in the past, unable to keep up with the present, or even swayed by temporary trends, his works cannot capture the hearts of art lovers. Just because some famous philosopher or a renowned critic has given a praise, art collectors these days do not go against their personal taste to include it in their archive. Indeed, Art Fairs are bustling with people who are competitively purchasing paintings and going around asking, “Which piece is worth investing, like, you know, the stock of Samsung Electronics or Tesla?” However, in such time as now, it is imperative to thoroughly explore artists who have been building his/her own world of creation, say for over 20 years. And that is where Ung-Pil Byen comes in.


Colors that captivated Art Paris

After viewing Art Paris held in September of 2021, Beaux Arts - France's leading art magazine – printed a rave review on Byen’s to be “deeply moving through charming flat surface composed of colors by delicate lines.” (The artist deliberately names an artwork, its series, and exhibition all in the same title.) On mint-colored background, two figures of unrecognizable gender, age and race are embracing each other while lying down obliquely with masks on as if symbolizing the grim present situation under COVID-19. The two must keep distance from one another to avoid infection, however with the hair-color being orange to show affection for one another, the image of their faces and bodies touching is profoundly moving. Although the cold background color reflecting the frigid pandemic circumstance is threatening, the two figures are boldly going through hardship together as they share the warmth of each other’s body. Love is the power that melts fear. Such interpretation may not exactly align with the artist’s intentions, but still Byen’s exquisite lines and refined colors bring out the maximal emotions with minimal depiction.
Abstract painting (Dansaekhwa) has been the trend for some years now, for its serenity devoid of noise in simple and calm color seep into the hearts weary from complicated and gloomy daily life. This trend is expected to last for some time, and Byen’s recent works are in concordance with the movement.


Not a self-portrait, or even a portrait

After receiving BFA in Fine Arts from Dongguk University of Korea and MFA from Academy of Arts in Muenster of Germany, Ung-Pil Byen returned to Seoul and received acclaim through his self-portrait series. They are strangely distorted – as if playing with it – and bald-headed faces of himself, partly covered with blown gum, apple, peach, flower, leaf, etc. What is intriguing about these paintings is that the more you stare at them, the less they seem like self-portraits. In general, the purpose of a self-portrait is to show the identity of the model, but the person in Byen’s painting is unidentifiable except appearing vaguely to be an Asian male. Such image may be shocking in a frightening manner, but that would be because our gaze only roams the surface without penetrating the flesh of the image. Once you take the title into notice - - you become to understand the discord. In a self-portrait, the artist is the model, and the model is the artist, hence the painting self and the painted self are the same person. However, Byen maintains the view that “Even though I painted myself, the person in the painting isn’t me.” He may have started from his reflection in the mirror or a photograph, but the male figure in the painting is as if just any person on the street or a common noun for someone on the Internet. Therefore, you should not view Ung-Pil Byen’s self-portraits in the same manner as appreciating Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits; This is something else. Such uniqueness is reinforced in series that are altered from self-portraits. This time, the shape and features of figures are expressed only with minimal lines. The person’s mood and gender can be guessed from the facial expressions made in lines, but even with their poses of touching hair or turning heads, it is impossible to identify who they are. As reviewed by , nothing about the figures can be assumed. So, since Byen’s person in is no one in particular, it can be anyone. With the minimum, the maximum is embraced. If so, are they abstract paintings? Portrayal abstracts? Abstract portraits? None of the above. They are still-life paintings.


Matisse, Morandi, and Byen

Just as the still-life paintings of Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964, Italian Modern artist) are regarded as portraits, the landscapes of William Turner (1775-1851, British Romanticism artist) should be appreciated as self-portraits, and the paintings of Édouard Manet (1832-1883) – the initiator of fine art painting – are still-life, Ung-Pil Byen’s portraits and self-portraits are still-life. There is a difference though; if the still-life paintings of the past were composed of vase, flowers, plant to describe nature and/or to use them as metaphors of ethical messages, Byen’s paintings express the fundamental sense of light and color with people as the subject matter. For him, a personal figure is a space and area to be filled with colors, and with original colors of the artist’s invention, in very fine brushstrokes, his own sophisticated sense is revealed; a refinement which can be achieved only through accumulation of details. Even a slight difference that is unnoticeable to others may be a crucial element to an artist. For the smoothness of the surface in the finished work, Byen paints only horizontally, and finds the color he wants through experimenting with paint countless times. This ordeal may be the fated task to someone who paints with mixed colors, but also the variables that occur when using paints of different brands (differing textures, drying time, etc.) contribute to the completeness of the piece. These subtleties add up and while the surface of the painting may look flat and smooth, the texture of Korean traditional paper becomes prominent up close.

“The only interest the visible world awakens in me concerns space, light, color and forms.”
_ Giorgio Morandi

“I don’t use lines to draw shapes, I use shapes to draw lines. That is painting.”
_ Ung-Pil Byen

With the help of Morandi’s words, Byen’s statement becomes comprehensible. Rather than instilling a meaning on the figure, the artist looks for space and shape in a canvas and expresses with light and color. Such approach connects to the Papier découpé series by Henri Matisse; the free-form cut-outs that are colored and glued together. The works of Morandi, Byen and Matisse are equal for how they exclude the narrative and construct a formative beauty in simple color and shape that leads the viewers to feel and contemplate. Morandi and Matisse has built their own world of painting by focusing on their inner side rather than following a historical trend in art, and interpreted art history in their own ways. As for Ung-Pil Byen, if you look past his seemingly conceptual composition, you will encounter the inner flesh that is heart-warming, and gaze-purifying as abstract paintings (Dansaekhwa) do. Of course, as from , you can experience both the joy of freely interpreting the elements on canvas and visual pleasure from colors, regardless of the artist’s intentions. And indeed, the landscape paintings previewed from the artist’s studio were still-life paintings with natural scenery for the subject matter. Conclusively, my recommendation for you, the viewers, is to take time to savor each of the 70 works presented in this exhibition.


The Destination of Ung-Pil Byen’s Art

Artists who are true to expressing himself through paintings without being bound to genres penetrate the existing barriers and reach a new territory. Ung-Pil Byen’s journey so far has been painting with lines and colors in sophisticated sense, dropping by the phases of portraits and landscapes during the course. There was a time of exploration when the goal and destination of his painting differed, but we the viewers can recognize that his artworks have well arrived at the intended stop. Just as a trip is leaving for a new site from the place of arrival, we cannot help but eagerly await Ung-Pil Byen’s next destination. By Dong-sub Lee, Art and Humanities scholar