YOUNHEE PAIK 정연희
YOUNHEE PAIK 정연희
Whenthetwilight comes, I often gotothe oceanto seethe golden colorofthewaves inthe sunset... standingwherethe sea meetsthe land. Ifeelblessedwhen I seethe sunlight pouring down onthewind and spray.The mysteryofthe universe causes me tofeelthe awesome powerwhich reigns overthis universe and stimulates meto paint. — Younhee Paik
From youth, Paik recalls that the ocean was her friend, as were the stars. Finding life and kinship in the seemingly inanimate, Paik’s practice intertwines being human to being in and of the universe. With this, Paik understands that the universe is not exclusive to the naturally occurring. She accepts our reality as it is: a world where we internalize and depend on man-made concepts and objects. She finds it unignorable.
Navigating the natural and the industries uprooted from nature, Paik moves through the world with intense compassion. And her movement—through wartime to post-war Korea; from Seoul to the West Coast; from San Francisco to New York and back; from daughterhood to motherhood; from her studio to her mother’s hospital bed; and from
gazing at the ocean to the strokes of her brush—overlaid with the emotions that followed it all, reflect in her work that captures a sincere regard and curiosity for universality without surrendering to generalization. Paik’s practice is deeply personal.
Her subject matter and methodology experiments with the idea of transformation and transition. She magnifies and sits with passage. She meditates on the people in her life, the events that occur within it, and she searches for spiritual expanse—a theme she represents with luminance. Grounded in her situational reality, Paik paints her wonder in the surreal.
Juxtapositioning nature and man with water and bridges, forests and ships, and stars and ladders; directly responding to, symbolizing, and immortalizing moments of her lucid, organic, dynamic living; putting it in paint, Paik presents a grammar to befriend curiosity and the universe that probes it. She invites us to see the light, which, to her, is art.
City Awaken (L)
RiverRecall #3
CATALOG INDEX
Tree - Noon | 1992, 48 x 60 in (121.92 x 152.4 cm), Oil On Canvas
Here To There - Bowl | 1994, 30 x 38 in (76.2 x 96.52 cm), Oil on canvas
Mercy On Us - Flags | 1995, 72 x 84 in (182.88 x 213.36 cm), Oil On Canvas
Ship - West | 1997, 29 x 41 in (73.66 x 104.14 cm), Acrylic on paper
Golden Climb #3 | 2001, 40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Golden Climb - Recall #13 | 2003, 40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Golden Climb - Apollo #3 | 2003, 48 x 30 in, (121.92 x 76.2 cm) Oil On Aluminum
Fifth Spring - Hudson #4 | 2003, 36 x 48 in (91.44 x 121.92 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Depart - Hudson | 2003, 30 x 36 in (76.2 x 91.44 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Night Flight - Sail | 2004, 125 x 82 in (317.5 x 208.28 cm), Acrylic On Canvas
Emerald Night | 2007, 36 x 25 in (91.44 x 63.5 cm), Oil On Wood Panel
St. Peter - Rotunda | 2008, 50 x 54 in (127 x 137.16 cm), Oil On Aluminum
St. James The Great #2 | 2009, 36 x 48 in (91.44 x 121.92 cm), Mixed Media On Canvas
St. Etienne in Memory | 2011, 48 x 36 in (121.92 x 91.44 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Cologne Cathedral | Ascending, 2014 , 84 x 68 in (213.36 x 172.72 cm), Oil On Canvas
Boat To North Pole | 2015, 48 x 36 in (121.92 x 91.44 cm), Oil On Aluminum
St. George - Rotunda | 2016, 36 x 48 in (91.44 x 121.92 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Adam & Eve Departing | 2020, 96 x 72 in (243.84 x 182.88 cm), Oil On Aluminum
Listening To Thousand Bells | 2023, 108 x 143 in (274.32 x 363.22 cm), Oil On Aluminum
I look atthe lightfrom underthetree. The tree I want to paint Makes the heart explode With its livelyvibrations, Light andwind, The water it absorbs. Branches spreading like bloodvessels, The time and space within them; Iwantto express life itself.And The sound ofbirdsthatfrequentthe tree.
— Younhee Paik
Tree - Noon
1992, 48 x 60 in (121.92 x 152.4 cm), Oil on canvas.
$39,000.00
Here
To There - Bowl
1994, 30 x 38 in (76.2 x 96.52 cm), Oil on canvas.
(detail)
I seekto understand nature and myselfinterms ofinfinitetime and space. I seetwo worlds, realand imagined, one inwhich I belong and onewhich I longfor. I do not knowwhich is real. Iwonder, struggletofindthat I cannot place myselfin one orthe other.This struggle can be seen in rhythmic bodymovements and dynamic barsfloating around anonymously.Throughtheseflights into space, mytwoworlds co-mingle. We divide ourtime bythe hours, days, seasons.Yetthere is infinitetimewhich cannot be divided byanytime unit. Ourexistence,to me, meansthe sharing part ofthe infinitetime and space. Iworkto understand myselfinthis universe and searchfora harmonyormerge ofthetwo conflictingworlds.
— Younhee Paik
The series Here to There embodies Paik’s abstract perception on the diametrics of life. Portraying ordinary human objects—in this case, a bowl, floating in infinite space—the works of Here to There puts into conversation the real vs. surreal, static vs. kinetic, interpretable vs. uninterpretable through imagery that can suggest both vast expanse and flatness, the celestial and pelagic.
The bowl, either submerged or in front of the scape, may suggest a meal. But while its contents are ambiguous, it appears to be the canvas whom consumes: attention.
Here To ThereBowl 1994, 30 x 38 in (76.2 x 96.52 cm), Oil on canvas.
In 1989, IvisitedYellowstone Park just afterlargefires had devastated the Park forest. Parts of theforest stretching dozens ofmiles had ofmiles hadturned into charcoal; itwas likewatching a cityhit bywar. Out ofhabit, Itook ourmy sketchbook and drew the burned trees. Black branches were reachingtowardthe skylike dead limbs; it looked as ifblackfish bones were howlingtowardthe sky. Instantly, Ifeltfrom deep insidethe craving gestures ofthethirsty. Later thethirstylivesturned into spiritual lights and symbolized candlelight orstars.
— Younhee Paik
Mercy On Us - Flags
1995, 72 x 84 in (182.88 x 213.36 cm), Oil on canvas.
$75,000.00
The ship longsforland andthe land longsforthe ship.The land desiresto depart and the ship desires them to return as a boat departs everydayto embark on another land.
To paint a boat is to paint new land.
— Younhee Paik
Ship - West
1997, 29 x 41 in (73.66 x 104.14 cm), Acrylic on paper.
2001, 40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm), Oil on aluminum. $18,000.00
Golden Climb #3
ClimbRecall #13
2003, 40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm), Oil on aluminum.
$18,000.00
Golden
I chose the brush, and set to paintingthe lights ofthe soulsthat departed ourworld; soulsfadingfar faraway.
Thefish symbolize soul-bearing bodies.
That ascent out of boxes representing ourreality. Humanwill and energy, shapes into spherical balls,float upwards inthe darkness.
— Younhee
Golden ClimbApollo #3 2003, 48 x 30 in, (121.92 x 76.2 cm) Oil on aluminum. $18,000.00
Paik
On a Sundayafternoon, All ofsudden, The beautiful pinktulips Dropped petals on the desk. The red huewas burning bright a fewhours ago; Now it is a flock of birds on a tree Takingflighttogether. The fallen feathers are scattered. Musical notes on the desk. Theyare beautifuleven laying down.
Fallen blossoms are stillflowers; whysweepthem away?
— Younhee Paik
Fifth Spring - Hudson #4 2003, 36 x 48 in (91.44 x 121.92 cm), Oil on aluminum.
Watergives a silk-likefeelingwhen it touches the skin; It liberates mefrom Earth’s gravity. When Ifloat effortlesslyowater, I am reminded of Being inside mymother’swomb.
Adeep, clean, clearheart, a smooth chest
Howeverhardyou look into it, Howmanytimesyou paint itstexture, Water’s depth resists representation.
Water— Iwould ratherjust swim in it.
— Younhee Paik
Depart - Hudson2
2003, 30 x 36 in (76.2 x 91.44 cm), Oil On Aluminum.
Night FlightSail
2004, 125 x 82 in (317.5 x 208.28 cm), Acrylic on canvas.
$55,000.00
Before Mom passed away, she hospitalized forayearat Samsung MedicalCenter, lying downfacingthe ceiling. I wanted to attach something nice onthat ceilingformy bed-ridden Mom to look at.
Since she died, Iwas seeingtheworld differentlyand itfelt like Iwas embarking on a newjourneyallbymyself. In onewayoranother, I needed afresh start. Like atree without roots, Iwas stumbling, unsurewhereto put down myroots again. I hadto struggleto survive.
Myshipswere always ghost-like battleships roaming around, not onwaterbut inthe dark sky. Some artists depicted an endearingwooden ship onwaterinspired by Eastern paintingto symbolizethe journeyoflife; comparedto byjourney,that kind of shipfelttoo sweet and sentimental.
— Younhee Paik
Paik’s mother Yeu Ai Kim passed away in 1995. The artist thereafter moved to New York and began producing ceiling paintings and turned to the imagery of ships. Night Flight – Sail combines these developments. The canvas sheet billows from the ceiling, creating a sense of instantaneous movement and outreach that sustains alongside an unreachability. Hollow but conceptually dense, convex in its thin mass, and downward looking but forward going—the presence of the ship is undeniable, but there’s doubt in the ship’s regard toward the viewer. Could we be transparent in our expanse? Perhaps like the ship, we, too, carry stars in remembrance.
Emerald Night (L)
2007, 36 x 25 in (91.44 x 63.5 cm), Oil on wood panel. $15,000.00
St. PeterRotunda (R)
2008, 50 x 54 in (127 x 137.16 cm), Oil on aluminum.
$33,000.00
I have been painting starsforawhile, but Iwantto paintthem as something more intricate and deeperthan simple points oflights.
Stars are someone’s birth, andthe death of others.
When Iwasyoung, someonetold me that we become stars when we die... Everytime Iwatchthe stars, itfeels like someone is looking down on me. When we die, we return to dirt, then become trees, then water, then gas elements.
Stars are masses ofgas. But do people reallyturn into stars?
— Younhee Paik
St. James The Great #2
2009, 36 x 48 in (91.44 x 121.92 cm), Mixed media on canvas.
$33,000.00
St. Etienne in Memory
2011, 48 x 36 in (121.92 x 91.44 cm), Oil on aluminum. $28,000.00
Cologne Cathedral
Ascending, 2014, 84 x 68 in (213.36 x 172.72 cm), Oil on canvas. $65,000.00
Sometimes I think
There might betoo manycolors and stories in mypaintings.
Could I simplify, and onlyshowthe essence?
But ifsimplificationwasthe goalofallpainting
Would it not leadto math equations?
Compromise is nofun.
Choosingto live ornotto live
Isthefight Iface everydayinfront ofthe canvas.
Infact, morethanthe result
This desparate quest and struggle isthe most beautifulmoment in mypractice.
— Younhee Paik
Suspended in space, Paik renders the cathedral’s floorplan in glowing lattice.
Illuminated by stars, nodes, and nebulae, the work’s vibrancy is not overwhelemed. At once, Paik encapsulates what it is to see within and through, darkness and lightness, vastness and refuge.
The sea, unabletoforgetthe land, draws close, Wave after wave.
The ship misses the land And the land misses the ship; The land desires to depart Andthe ship longsto arrive.
— Younhee Paik
When looking at the ocean, it’s easy to identify the horizon line—where the ocean meets the sky. In Paik’s work, however, often the ocean is the sky, or there is no ocean or even no sky. There is a space, earthily familiar in its otherworldliness, poetically equivocal, and ultimately ineffable.
In Boat to North Pole, a small empty canoe travels through a gaseous bright mass that seems to fog over a slick black entity. Consistent with Paik’s work, there exists a vessel that represents human presence and a cosmic landscape that opens the floor to exploration in the physical, internal, and spiritual realms.
2015, 48 x 36 in (121.92 x 91.44 cm), Oil on aluminum.
Boat To North Pole
What is itthat Iwantto say,thatwhich I desire Towardsthatvast, deep space,that infinite time?
What is itthat I am ableto jot down Onthis smallrectangularsurface, Inthis smallbox ofa studio?
Aburst ofenergyculledfrom a cornerofthe universe, Mybodyis but a spark, Asmallpillaroffire burning in a distant desert; Mybodylongsforthe peace ofa clearazure sky.
— Younhee Paik
St. George - Rotunda 2016, 36 x 48 in (91.44 x 121.92 cm), Oil on aluminum.
$33,000.00
Adam & Eve Departing
2020, 96 x 72 in (243.84 x 182.88 cm), Oil on aluminum.
$70,000.00
Painting is an endless departure and innovation; it means leavingyesterdaybehind. To drawdarkness, one needsto erase brightness;to drawmotion, erasewhat is still; to drawwhat is big, erasethe small. Everydayis a cycle ofadvances and retreats in which something newis born, aimed at avision.Thewrestling and caressing between the material and me, painting is an everydayrevolution and sincere prayer.
— Younhee Paik
A universe of its own exists within the cerebral arrangement of aluminum panels, and following the shadows, the date engraved terrestrial spheres seem to occur both on top of and within the surface. The radially increasing obital linework is reminiscent of sound-waves with high diffraction. Signaling from opposite ends of the work, the leftward call surrounds the prussian blue man, who leans over as if to listen.
ListeningToThousand Bells can be understood as a continuation of Paik’s dichotomic explorations, as a representative of human-life peers over a cosmic suspension. While Paik’s work is usually meaningfully direct with her symbolic vocabulary, ListeningTo Thousand Bells appears especially blunt. Exhibiting an actual person instead of a mechanic suggestion of life, Paik enhances this moment’s organicism. Further, instead of implying the mind’s layered concerns, she labeles each orb that radiates toward the man.
This is not to say this piece has no room for interpretation. The dates could represent projections of nostalgia, the subliminal effect of inflection points, ancestry, or more broadly, some intersection of human existence. The bells may be deafening, symphonic, or barely recognizable. To hear the bells may be a choice, so consider what a thousand bells sound like, to you.
Listening To Thousand Bells
2023, 108 x 143 in (274.32 x 363.22 cm), Oil on aluminum. (detail)
Can there ever be eternally beautiful art? Especially, as you get older, it is a difficult challenge To keep the five senses sensitive and sanctified.
— Younhee Paik
Listening To Thousand Bells
2023, 108 x 143 in (274.32 x 363.22 cm), Oil on aluminum.
$140,000.00
YOUNHEE PAIK (b. 1945, Seoul) was educated first in South Korea, where she received her B.F.A. from Seoul National University. She later pursued her M.F.A. at the San Francisco Art Institute, residing as an active artist in San Francisco for over thirty years while continually revisiting her homeland. For the past twelve years, she has maintained a studio and exhibited in New York, San Francisco, and Seoul. She is a passionate and expressive painter whose emotions assume a masterful presence in her large, dynamic paintings. She currently lives and works in Oakland, CA.
Paik has showcased her work in over 40 solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea;
Daejeon City Museum in Daejeon, South Korea; Whanki Museum in Seoul, South Korea; Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, CA; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Artist’s Gallery) in San Francisco, CA; San Jose Museum of Art in San Jose, CA; Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, TX; Tucson Museum of Art in Tucson, AZ; Crocker Museum in Sacramento, CA; National Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, Mexico; and Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, WA, among others. She is currently representing the United States at the 15th Gwangju Biennial and was featured at the 1995 Venice Biennial.
Her works are in the permanent collections of various public and private institutions across South Korea and the United States, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; Seoul City Museum, Seoul; Samsung Museum, Seoul; TOTAL Art Museum, Seoul; Whanki Museum, Seoul; Suwon City Museum, Suwon; Seoul National University Museum, Seoul; the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, CA; Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA; Sonoma County Museum, CA; Korean National Consulate, New York, NY; Korean Cultural Service, New York, NY; Bank of America, Sacramento, CA, and more.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 — “Chorus Of Trees”, Whanki Museum, Seoul, South Korea
2015 — “Cosmic Crush”, Vessel Gallery, Oakland, CA
2012 — “Ascending River”, ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art, San José)
2012 — GALLERY HYUNDAI, Seoul, South Korea
2010 — Braunstein Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010 — “Jeen Kyung”, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul South Korea
2009 — Daejeon City Museum, DaeJeon, South Korea
2009 — Gana Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
2009 — “Wondrous Garden”, Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, NY
2008 — Whanki Museum, Seoul, South Korea
2007 — Gallery IHN, Seoul, South Korea
2006 — Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
2005 — Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
2004 — Heidi Cho Gallery, New York, NY
2004 — GALLERY HYUNDAI, Seoul, South Korea
2003 — San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Artist’s Gallery), SF,CA
2002 — Sugar Hill Art Center, New York, NY
2001 — GALLERY HYUNDAI, Seoul, South Korea
2000 — Saint Peter’s Church, New York, NY
2000 — Brenda Taylor Gallery, New York, NY
1999 — Kennedy Art Center - Holy Names College, Oakland, CA
1999 — TOTAL Museum, Seoul, South Korea
1997 — Gallerie BHAK, Seoul, South Korea
1997 — San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Artist’s Gallery), SF, CA
1996 — LASCA Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1996 — D.P. Fong Gallery, San José, CA
1994 — GALLERY HYUNDAI, Seoul, South Korea
1994 — The Allrich Gallery, San Fransisco, CA
1993 — D.P. Fong Gallery, San José, CA
1991 — Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA
1991 — GALLERY HYUNDAI, Seoul, South Korea
1990 — The Allrich Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 — Kennedy Art Center - Holy Names College, Oakland, CA
1989 — Jennifer Paul’s Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1988 — National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
1988 — The Allrich Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1988 — Duson Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1987 — Los Angeles Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
1986 — San José Museum of Art, San José, CA
1985 — San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Artist’s Gallery), SF, CA
1985 — “When We Meet Again”, Han Kuk Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1983 — “Here to There”, Korean Cultural Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1982 — “Here to There”, Bridge Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1979 — “Vision of Origin”, Community Art Center, San Pedro, CA
1976 — Shinsegue Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1975 — 29th San Francisco Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017 — “In-Between Place”, Mills College Museum, Oakland CA
2015 — Vessel Gallery, Oakland, CA
2014 — Sandra Lee Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2012 — Santa Cruz Museum, Santa Cruz, CA
2008 — Whanki Museum, Seoul, South Korea
2007 — Incheon Women Artists’ Biennial, Incheon, South Korea
2007 — Asian American Art Center, New York, NY
2006 — “Ashland”, Schneider Museum of Art – Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon
2006 — Marymount Manhattan College, New York, NY
2004 — Gana Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
2003 — National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
2003 — Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles California
2002 — Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, NY
2002 — Silicon Valley Museum – San José State University, San José, CA
2001 — Sugar Hill Art Center, Harlem, NY
2001 — Woodward Gallery, New York, NY
2001 — Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery – University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
2000 — Gallery Korea, New York, NY
1999 — Euphrat Museum of Art – De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
1998 — Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
1998 — Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
1997 — Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
1997 — Western Gallery – Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
1997 — Memorial Art Gallery – University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
1997 — “The Painter’s Craft”, Humboldt State University Art Gallery, Arcata, CA
1996 — “Tiger’s Tail”, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
1996 — “Rapture”, San Francisco State University Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996 — “Who is Afraid of Freedom?”, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA
1996 — “Rediscovering the American Landscape”, Gerald Peter Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1996 — “Korean Art, New Sensation”, Gallery Korea, New York, NY
1996 — Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1995 — “Tiger’s Tail”, Venice Biennial, Venice, Italy
1995 — Crocker Museum, Sacramento, CA
1995 — Transamerica Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995 — John N. Joe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1995 — SOMAR Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995 — San José Museum, San José, CA
1995 — Whanki Museum, Seoul, South Korea
1995 — Hyundai Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1994 — “Mentors”, San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1994 — “Landscape”, Korean Cultural Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993 — Haenah-Kent Gallery, New York, NY
1993 — “Seoul, California 7”, Art Beam Gallery – Chosun Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1993 — “What Heaven Looks Like”, San José Institute of Contemporary Art, San José, CA
1991 — National Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico
1990 — Angel’s Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA
1989 — Gloria Laguna Museum, Austin, TX
1989 — Jeremy Stone Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989 — Jose Droids Biada Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1988 — “Countervisions: Pioneers in Bay Area Art”, SFSU — Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1986 — Jennifer Paul’s Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1985 — San Bernardino County Museum, San Bernardino, CA
1984 — Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA
1984 — World Print Council Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1983 — Korean Culture Gallery, Paris, France
1982 — Deoksugung National Modern Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea
Located in downtown Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley, Qualia Contemporary Art is dedicated to showcasing outstanding established and emerging artists working in a variety of media. The gallery is committed to building lasting relationships with artists, collectors, curators, and scholars nationally and internationally, and providing a vital platform for dialogues on contemporary art and culture in the Bay Area and beyond.
Qualia Contemporary Art
229 Hamilton Ave Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.qualiacontemporaryart.com
Gallery Contact Dacia Xu 650-656-9132 dacia@qualiagallery.com
Media Contact Lainya Magaña, A&O PR 347-395-4155 lainya@aopublic.com
Composed and designed by Amelie Pak, Stanford Art History ampak@stanford.edu
