Children 2021 smart group exhibition by Gallerium Art.

Juried international artist call : Children 2021 group exhbition and publication

  ​Artists expose their work to the public as much as possible through exhibitions and publications. In order to get this opportunity, they are evaluated through artist open calls and various contests. I once had an offer to publish a children's book from someone who had a connection with a publisher. I received a proposal not long after I came to the United States, so I drew without any doubt and had weekly meetings and reported the results. However, I later found out that the offer itself was a lie. I re-transformed the works instead of any disappointment or anger and eventually exhibited them solo in another gallery with good results. Looking back now, I feel fortunate.

In my experience, the easy path always causes some problems. It doesn't matter whether it's a personal connection or a vanishing opportunity. Eventually, it was not a reliable way. So, after ten years of experience, I have learned something. It is always going slowly, step by step, like a beginner, even if the road is challenging.

Night scenery, 2014, Myungja Anna Koh

 In that sense, I participated in the artist open call. This call is an art for children by exhibition and publication. It is an excellent opportunity to compile an art book after the online group exhibition.  

 Below screen shows my artwork, was selected for group exhibition. 

 ​The selected work, "The camelia," is a small picture drawn on paper with colored pencils for watercolor. Between the flowers, a child becomes covered in blood and is depicted guarding her dying father. This painting is a painting that records historical facts and is not painted to decorate the living room.

The camelia, 2018, Myungja Anna Koh

At the Jeju 4.3 (Jeju uprising) incident, my father was eight years old. My grandfather was the principal of the elementary school in Jeju. On the 4.3th, 1948, armed men from the South Korean Labor Party gathered people from schools, city halls, and houses in one place and shot them. At the time, my grandfather passed away. Before he went to paradise, he held my father's little hand tightly and cried. In April, Jeju Island is a beautiful season when the camellia flowers blossom colorful and red. But the camellias of that days flew over and covered the blood of many innocent citizens who were executed for ideology.

That day, Jeju was dyed everywhere bloody. It doesn't matter whose fault it was, who was the trigger, or what wrong decision was made. Because even if it is revealed, the deceased will not come back. Historically, the socially underprivileged have been constantly exploited and abandoned. That is one of the tragedies of war.

  A world where children can live happily, safely, and peacefully, how wonderful it would be if adults could create such a world. However, the reality is that, due to the foolishness of adults, children are abandoned in war, countless conflicts, abuse, and neglect. 

  I hope that painters can paint a common-sense world in which a father can protect a young child, rather than a single child protecting his father as in my paintings. And I hope that the child who has suffered such a tragic trauma will grow up again and not suffer and create another pain to overcome the darkness.
 
  After the exhibition, the contents of this exhibition(30.OCT-10.DEC.2021) will be edited and published as a book "The book of Art; Children, 2021".  I appreciate that my work is printed online as well as in book form.

 This open call was free to compile these books. In contrast to the reality that vanishing publishing causes frustration and disappointment for artists who create purely by companies, I sincerely thank Gallerium Art for providing a valuable opportunity for free.