CREATION CONTINUA:Park Joon Photo Portraits of Korean Artist Diaspora in Greater New York

Gallery Korea at the Korean Cultural Center New York
Exhibition Dates: March 17- April 30, 2021

[뉴욕한국문화원] 전시 홍보용 메인사진 CREATION CONTINUA-Park Joon Photo Portraits of Korean Artist Diaspora in Greater New York.jpg

Installation Views (Click the images to check out details)

Park Joon Korean Artist Diaspora Series, 2021
Photo Portraits (Click the images to check out details)

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The Korean Cultural Center New York is pleased to present CREATION CONTINUA: Park Joon Photo Portraits of Korean Artist Diaspora in Greater New York, photographer Park Joon’s first portrait exhibition that comprises portraits that he has taken in the past two years of some of the most significant Korean-American artists living today. 

A special exhibition celebrating Asia Week New York 2021, CREATION CONTINUA: Park Joon Photo Portraits of Korean Artist Diaspora in Greater New York chronologically displays photographs of 50 Korean immigrant artists who came to the United States in the latter 20th century and are still active in their practice. It provides a special intimate opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of modern and contemporary Korean art history through the histories of Korean diaspora artists. 

National borders have lost much of their meaning in today’s global society as people are free to move across the world; and many artists live and work in places where they were not born. The meaning of diaspora artists has gradually expanded to include those who have moved to different countries voluntarily, and are creating artworks unbounded by geographic identities. When reflecting on the history and the works of Korean artists who moved to New York in the 50s and 60s, the meaning of their individuals’ narratives becomes even more significant as a part of a greater canon.

A New York-based diaspora artist himself, Park Joon felt the need and desire to archive the lives and footprints of Korean artists in New York, a pivotal center of the art world. He began this meaningful project to photographically record each of their histories in his own way, through his lens. This project is unique in that Park photographed the artists in their homes or studios in order to capture their most natural and genuine selves. Park also presents each artist against a portable backdrop to focus only on the figures. In a way, CREATION CONTINUA is a rare record of the artists’ existence in another artist’s work, distanced from their own works, and is noteworthy for its place in the establishment of Korean American art history. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

(Text by Inhee Iris Moon)

Park Joon, born March 1st, 1956 in Busan, South Korea, is a distinguished Korean American photographer.  He immigrated to the United States in 1984 and since then, he has lived with his wife of 33 years, Young-hee Hwang in Jamaica, New York. 

His Korean American Artist Portrait Series explores themes of desertification and miracles in our contemporary lives. The diaspora forms parallels to the physical desert, a symbolic oasis. Intended to capture fellow immigrant artists who continuously create to justify their existence, unexpected details of the human physique contrast with authentic yet heightened gestures. He uses the same backdrop in each to strip the complex of separation encouraged by labels of rich vs poor, famous vs. less famous, old vs young. 

Park Joon’s images embody the healing power and regenerative cycles of nature. The Korean American Artist Portrait Series rejects preconceived notions of artistic identity, capturing candid images of his peers within the Korean artist diaspora in New York. He critically displays intrinsic humanity, bypassing superficial norms. Creation Continua means “the idea that the created world is dependent on the active presence of the creator,” an apt message for our collective future and artists compelled to continue their own cycle and project hope for new norms in the times of Covid-19. 

CREATION CONTINUA: Park Joon Photo Portraits of Korean Artist Diaspora in Greater New York is co-curated by Hee Sung Cho, Curator at the KCCNY and Inhee Iris Moon, Director of FAZI.