Statement from the Artist -

Through seoye (calligraphy, 서예, 書藝) and sumukhwa (ink painting, 수묵화, 水墨畫) I hope to make work which prioritizes joy, inspires rest, and challenges the idea that beauty is frivolity without substance. My work is heavily influenced by literature and poetry, the resiliency of the natural world in our fight to preserve the environment, and a deep infatuation with the materiality of ink. I place a great deal of emphasis on research, whether the means are academic, experiential, or experimental. Accordingly, my process for painting tends to be rather slow, placing my work in direct friction with the expectations of modern rapidity. I find this intentional method of making more than just gratifying, but an essential component to my practice, and the way I live.

By working in ink, I acknowledge that I am carrying forward the legacy of centuries of literati and artists who have come before me. However, while I hold this lineage in the highest regard, I remain adamantly opposed to the antiquated political and social ideologies embedded in the visual language of pre-modern ink, often masquerading as “tradition.” It is a disservice to any medium when its artists fail to innovate on what has come before, and I refuse to fail this medium, to which I have dedicated myself.

About the Artist -

b. 1999 Wol-Un is a calligrapher and ink painter, born in Seattle, Washington. Living and making on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples. Wol-Un was born to parents of Korean and Chinese-Filipino descent.

Alumni of Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts, contributor to the Wing Luke Museum, the City of Seattle, 2024 solo exhibition at the Postmark Center for the Arts, and recipient of the 2024 Audain Foundation Travel Award.

Wol-Un is a pseudonym, in Korean, the concept of an art-name is known as, “ho” (호, 號). Wol-Un is a name derived from the Chinese characters, hanja (한자, 漢字) for Moon (Wol, 월, ⽉) and Cloud (Un, 운, 雲).

E-mail:

info@sunatnight.art