The fourth day of My Art Festival!

The fourth day of My Art Festival!

Introduction to the most memorable exhibition.

  Today is the 4th day of My Art Festival. Today's topic is the most impressive exhibition of my ten years. 

  What is an exhibition? An exhibition is an action and effect that reveals something for others to see, hear, and appreciate. The word comes from the Latin expositio, expositiōnis.    

  ​For artists, an exhibition is an opportunity to open the paintings they have been drawing for a long time to the public, and it is a valuable place to help their works come out and be constantly exposed to the world. Artists regularly held or attend exhibitions to make their careers and introduce their works. And when these records accumulate over time, It become a personal art history and sometimes become a kind of life documentary that tells the artist's own life like a diary. For the artist himself, it is a career that shows his professionalism in artistic activities, and it is also a stepping stone for other attempts or challenges. Through this, artist will meet collectors, curators, art lover, colleagues, and mentors, allowing artists to work with these connections without being isolated actively.

  ​There are many different routes for artists to create or participate in these exhibitions such as gallery open calls, Jurid Competition exhibition, interview with a curator, regular gallery events, exhibitions through art shows and art fairs, local festivals, etc. 

  ​And the format of the exhibition is also diverse. Outdoor art shows, regular exhibitions, group exhibitions, solo exhibitions, online exhibitions, hybrid exhibitions, exhibitions through outreach programs linked with companies or companies, etc., you can compose your exhibition considering the type of exhibition.

   Personally, I mainly participated in online exhibitions in 2020 due to Covid-19. And since most of them are online, I realize the nostalgia and importance of offline exhibitions while being comfortable.

  When I see white empty walls, I feel good. In general, people get scared when they see a white canvas. What should I fill in here? So did I.

 However, if you continue to draw and receive comfort from painting, there will come a moment when the white wall and the white canvas are no longer a pain.

 Instead, if you look at space or canvas without anything, you will find pictures filled here, and you will be happy as ideas arise like me.  

  ​At this stage when I could enjoy with paintings, while walking down the street, when I saw the empty white space in the store, I used to think of it as a space to hang the paintings.

This offline space allows me to feel the ideas and pleasures that need to be filled. It's fun to look at the physical space and place the artwork, sometimes nailing it, and after hanging the picture, it's fun to see how well the artwork is laid out from a distance. Of course, when I came to New York, the curators took the place of hanging and arranging the pictures, so I didn't have many opportunities to have that kind of fun, but it's still gratifying to talk about pictures with the curators and put them together.

  ​That is why I feel a stronger sense of happiness not only at the moment of the exhibition, but also in the process of preparing for the exhibition. Memories of walking through the gallery while talking about paintings with a sculptor friend during the first exhibition, memories of making exhibition posters and designing postcards together, my husband was nailing nails to hang paintings on the wall, and playing and helping out for my exhibition. The exhibition is like a festival place where people can enjoy themselves together.

  ​ And if I do an exhibition, I surely get the fruits of that exhibition. Some exhibitions allow me to meet good mentors, and some exhibitions make good connections to open other exhibitions. Sometimes a painting sells well, and sometimes not a single painting sells. However, even if it was an exhibition where not a single piece of work was sold, there must be some unseen fruit. I will meet good people and sometimes lead to a promising career. 

 So I learned a good lesson that no exhibition could be neglected.

  ​I have held or attended 40 exhibitions over the past ten years. On average, four exhibitions were prepared and held every year. It's a small-scaled statistic compared to prolific and famous painters, but personally, it's a number I'm very proud of, given that I did my best when I couldn't afford it.

How could an artist who had no time, money, or diploma in art like me have done to open 40 exhibitions for free? The answer is clear as always. It is because angels who help are always there. If I can't meet such people hadn't had such opportunities, it would have been difficult for them to continue to work for ten years.

   Looking back in this sense, the most impressive exhibition I have held so far was the solo exhibition I held before I came to the United States, that is before I left Germany.

 The event is organized by Artists networks,  the Künstlernetzwerke-SW, the Karlsruhe . I have exhibited support from this organization for exhibition space and performance costs. I thought this exhibition was a better opportunity because it was able to organize paintings and assorted art related events. When I announced this plan, my artists' friends actively supported me. Among them were a singer, a pianist, and a Korean language school principal. He played, sang, and read poetry to me for my exhibition. Since the exhibition's theme was Korea, all performances were based on Korean sentiments.

  ​Through that exhibition, I discovered that the exhibition is not a space to hang up and look at paintings physically but to share and experience invisible pleasures and artistic depths. When painting, music, and literature come together, you can experience art and the depth and joy of art in a more three-dimensional way.
And you come to realize that painting, music, and literature all have one root, one origin.

I hope that the power of consolation of art will do an excellent job when everyone feels tired from Corona and feels stuffy with unfamiliar restrictions and regulations.