Heo YongSung - 허용성

"For you on embarking on 'aim-less trip' - Before the portrait of Heo Yong-sung ● Perhaps there were not many people who thought that the destiny of painting that has the term of crisis ordinarily used would make this recovery in such a short period of time. Although there is a strong showing of external factor in art market, this flow in art would not be such a lethargic condition that it leaves its own destiny onto a few flows as in the rumors of town. This is equally applicable for the Korean paintings that we have witnessed that there are growing number of artists who naturally accept the flow that has expanded into the painting territory rather than outcry of restoration of the genre. It is also rare now for naming for 'brother for brother and father for father' with tradition and identity of Korean painting as its foundation. Instead, the area is full of art works that naturally display the modernity of Korean painting with the private experience drawn in paper and ink on behalf of Korean painting and its route thereof, or the works beyond the insight of Korean painting in dense situation. There are group of artists who succeeded the tradition in contemporary means with the method to diversely display various colors of water ink, enjoy the smearing of dark ink without any change of light and shade or paying attention to the sensitive changes in between smearing and there are those who dreaming of another Korean paintings as attempted to place the objective distance with the technique and material that they borrow from different genre as maintaining for innate scenery. It would be a significant change considering that the Korean painting for its magnetism would present mutually different extreme points in whether it is 'Korean painting' or 'Oriental painting' to pull together or push one another. ● However, notwithstanding these diverse experiments and variations of such Korean painting, the views of upper generation in gazing into the 'new wave of Korean painting' are not that placid at all. It seemed to have the concrete shapes, but it would be dire frame that would fall easily with the wind from outside, and the attitude that seemed to neglect the generation of aesthetics in silence for blank space as for the implication of Korean painting would not be so readily acceptable. Indeed, it is a meaningful implication. However, it is true that this implication shows a sign of sarcasm as well. For those who have become 'professional' artist who consider opening of exhibition and naming of them here and there would not place any burden for them, the frantic effort of young artists would be reflected simply as an outcry. Of course, the time lapsed as they developed the Korean painting circle of today would be the crystal of aesthetic cause rare to keep with the precious value for our generation. Notwithstanding such fact, for me who live as a generation for them and young artist as a 'medium', and take the work as my engagement for 'business' I would feel certain level of fear for there is distance widening as day passes between the two. ● As we are recognized, most of young Korean paintings (or paintings) that came to us recently focus on visualizing the voidness and unfamiliarity that contemporary people feel. Void in relationship, recovery or relationship and works of young generation that would be consigned of the Korean painting circle in later days would be splitted into desiring for communication and consensus with others or turn away with respective intension. The fundamental phraseology of 'ink on Korean paper (coloring)' is still present, but specific part of human body is strongly condensed to express one's status with deviating from reality or contain minor experience and trivial event of ordinary event as the imaginative and symbolic elements of one's own would indicate that the breadth of frivolous of reality to look onto the appearance which is indicative for all that is not easy at all. It is the same in the works of Heo Yong-sung that the artist intends to pull in the foregoing two elements into his works. ● Heo Yong-sung who displays the exquisite brush touch bar more conspicuous than other artists originally contained the portraits of people with clear subject in President Obama and the like in sophisticated touches. Those descriptive drawings as if qualified to use the term of 'imagist' maintain the density of Korean painting while bring the flexibility unique in this young artist. However, it is also undeniable that there is something not very clear as the artist and onlookers could both sense. If it is first classified in vague and general terms, it would be the fact that the young artists 'just above' him as classified into the same generation already set their foot on the painting circle with similar works, and another point is the fact that the work volume to describe his own story to differentiated is insufficient yet. In spite of such fact, what we expected from the works of Heo Yong-sung is that he maintains the innate features of Korean painting while competent in expressing the portraits of our time as if we are in unfamiliar space. And now, we have the fortune to encounter with the fine drawing to function with different litmus to interpret the contemporary feature of the Korean painting in relatively short period of time. Our faith is valid and accurate. ● Drawings of Heo Yong-sung contain the portrait of younger days in its series type. The portraits in his drawing as they approach us in static yet powerful impact contain the instability and neglect that youth has to embrace on. Portrait of famous people would be enough to captivate the views of people at the first sight but I feel the change for the artist is very timely as well as refreshing. Even without borrowing the thought of Faucault, it would function as the issue of 'subject' to draw the painting, and it would seem to have the strong impression as if he declared to draw his own painting, not the painting for the purpose of painting through this exhibition. This is truly important aspect that we know too well that many painting works that are valued as 'fine work' in the market would be nothing more or nothing less than high level of brushing skills. It may be unexpected analogy, but it is interesting to contemplate what difference would there be for 'lining up' of good singers only by 'singing capability' and a few incidental elements from the entertainment survival program with the sweeping popularity and the practice that has been prevalent in the art market today. We need to look back that we may neglect the consistent 'position' of artist to view the world in the process of discussing 'good' art from certain days. ● On this point, the paintings of Heo Yong-sung may have less of sleekness compared from his previous works, but he has made meaningful progress in the point that the views of audience is gathered on the truth as the brush of the artist intended. In this exhibition, the artist seemed to make up his mind to represent the same generations with the splendid 21st century smart civilization coming as the darkness. By sensitively captivate various symptoms of the same generation that is fatigued from commercial experiment of existing generations from the end of darkness surrounding him, vagueness that could not distinguish front or back and marmotte of the lab and they are sublimed into work product through the experimental Korean painting style. As the artist confessed as ‘inserted', his drawings plainly drawn the defeatism flowing through the blood of him and his generation to live on. It is shown to accept the reality of present time in tied up for clever device in '880,000 won' for me to draw the painting, or you or all of us. However, it seemed like a mixture of certain type of rage and it is perhaps attributable to the fact that the artist sensed that the diverse entailment surrounding the identity of Korean painting or the tradition of learning that the high and noble academy tries hard to keep would not go beyond the arrogant reality. Perhaps so. The artist takes the origin of his works in the nostalgia on 'fantasy' taken its place beyond the dimensional reality to ties upon him. The 'portrait' in the drawing as if it floats around in white appearance takes a plane look of audiences with its image of 'no desire' as if the vitality of youth is curtailed. At a time to most actively jumped into the reality, he curtails his boundary as little as possible to have their look as if given up but it makes the onlookers that much inconvenient. ● That has to be the attribute. I could taste the quality of emotion in 'freedom' from the painting of artist no one has. As human lives on, it makes effort to fill up its own desire in anyway possible and it could feel the courage of young artist who attempts to undertake art with different point of view. The artist knows it. It seemed like he was patting on the back of his peers that we do not really need to change the world, and the world would run toward its end and we need to have more space to look around us and out surroundings by taking all easy. It may not be so easy. No one can hide away the instinct to tackle the world and self-ego while penetrating the time and space of youth. However, unlike the general youth of reality that artist Heo Yong-sung could not shake off the pressure of existence for which he has learned in preparing for this exhibition, he seemed to enlighten the fact that he is the artist who refines the life conditions of melancholiness and neglect in aesthetic language. Living truly in 'graceful' ways within the world full of dirt as all things are figured our as survival does not mean to fight against the world until the fuel in youth is exhausted or running at the top of the lungs in chase after the noble things, but to be the conclusion in horizontal view to the world through the 'portrait' of me and my surroundings. ● It sounds right. If discarded by reality, or floating around the aimless time and space, it does not mean that the trace of someone is lost its meaning. Rather than unyieldingly race toward a destination, aloofness to floating around somewhere without the immediate destination would have the day to call for the true art someday. Even for this moment, the artist and many other young artists are fully immersed into sharpening up their brushes. However, we will think slowly if my faith toward art is excessive and I am overly excited. We will take a look at my appearance as if it is too busy to set the finite plan where to go and what to bring on, and resulting it to have the appearance of 'tourist' that falls down from tiredness even before taking off. As it is assumed, the desperate love toward art and toward life could be gained when you are away from it. At such time, your own space can be occupied and has the reduced scenery of your own. I would boldly say as I am a part of established generation that the artist classified. Leave for aimless trip, go as far as you can, and we go together. ■ YunDonghee"