Congeries of Beings
Sung Won Yun 06.13.2019 - 08.22.2019 Narthex Gallery
“Congeries of Beings,” Sung Won Yun’s exhibition of abstract mixed media paintings that link past, present, and future into an emotional contemplation of serenity, is on display from June 13 to August 22, 2019, at the Narthex Gallery.
In the exhibition, Sung Won depicts serenity not in a steady state where a temporal evolution ceases, but in a dynamic process that assembles individualities into an inseparable whole. Sung Won draws inspiration from her travels to Iceland and Norway and her observations of plants over time—in developing root systems, growing stems, and changing leaves. She illustrates these natural processes by the organic, abstract shapes floating within the universe of her canvasses, which create dynamic trajectories and unite past, present, and future. Behind this life, Sung Won layers scores of subtly varying colors to make surfaces appear monochromatic from a distance but maintain heterogeneity when viewed close up. As these layers accumulate, their meanings emerge and integrate toward a universal synthesis of serenity.
Sung Won Yun was born in Seoul and works in New York City. Her artistic media of painting, drawing, photography, and mixed media representing fundamental questions about homogenization of cultural, ecological, and geological processes in the congeries of time. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University in 2010, and completed her Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts in painting in Korea. She has had eight solo exhibitions, including at the KEPKO Gallery (Seoul), the Andover Newton Theological School (Newton, Massachusetts), and the Blank Space Gallery (New York). She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions internationally since 1999, including at the Cooper Union School of Art (New York), the Garvey Simon Gallery (New York), and the Kate Oh Gallery (New York). Sung Won’s artistic achievements include the SMFA Traveling Fellowship (2012), Artist Fellowship from Terra Foundation for American Art (2010), and Yousuf Karsh Prize in photograph (2010).
“Congeries of Time” © 2015
24”x 54” (3 panels of 14”x 18”) / Graphite, ink, watercolor and acrylic on canvas
“In Between” © 2018
11”x 17” / Graphite and colored pencil on drafting film (Mylar)
“Congeries of Time” © 2015
2 panels of 10”x 10” / Graphite, ink, watercolor and acrylic on canvas