Jungwon Phee

Jungwon Phee (b. 1993), based in Seoul and New York, is acclaimed for his nuanced exploration of self and the outsider experience through his art. Having resided in Canada and the U.S., Phee's artistic narrative traces his personal evolution, utilizing black backgrounds as a symbolic canvas representing his journey from childhood. He seamlessly blends Eastern and Western artistic traditions, incorporating Eastern ink symbolism and Western black gesso, a reflection of his extensive travels and nomadic lifestyle. On top of the black surface, figures such as squares and strips sometimes appear, shaping the artist's memories and experiences reborn in space and time by his current consciousness and inspiration. The bends and layers that appear in these materials are imperfections, like cracks, and the artist constantly adds layers of paint to complement them. This repetitive process is also the artist's visual practice to bring his unconscious to completeness. Phee's abstract approach beckons viewers into a dialogue with his creations, inviting them to infuse their own interpretations onto his canvases. His work embodies a dynamic interplay between individual experience and collective understanding, revered for its profound depth and universal appeal. Recognized domestically and internationally, Phee's art offers a distinctive expression and insightful examination of individual consciousness. Some of Phee’s recent solo exhibitions include 《From darkness》(Space Hyeong, Seoul, Korea, 2024), 《Abstraction of black space and memory》(The Reference, Seoul, Korea, 2024) 《CONFLUENCE》(SEOJUNG ART, Seoul, 2022), 《Emotional Layers》(Seongnam Art Center, 2022), and 《The Paths》(Untitled Void, Seoul, Korea). Additionally, he participated in many group exhibitions such as 《Instead of a Result, a Process》(M5 Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2023). He has been selected for the 2022 Korean Young Artists Series hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong, recognized as an emerging artist by the Seongnam Cultural Foundation in 2022, and also received recognition from the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2021.