Seungho Jang

The actions in my paintings have become the reason for existence in the world.

As an artist living in this country, I feel isolated. It's as if we're all trapped in a society that isn't truly a society, where everyone is merely trying to survive on their own. Our community is rife with conflict and hate, making even discussions about art or the definition of the world feel burdensome. In front of apartment spaces resembling chicken coops, filled with impersonal traces that are neither artworks nor products, people are busy taking pictures of each other, becoming cogs in the machine of capitalism. A culture of reflection and criticism is nowhere to be found.

What does it mean to exist as an artist and a person in a time where abnormality is becoming the norm? My act of drawing has been a kind of psychological struggle to survive within this abnormal structure.

Abstract art and painting have become my life and my everyday. They've settled into my life's pattern and style. I feel like they've become my companions and family. But on the other hand, I'm scared. I wonder if this is becoming a way of life where everyone has to fend for themselves. I want to understand where I came from and where I should go. What is the social role of an artist? What does it mean to live as an artist in a society of endless competition tied to capitalism, existing within us but somehow without us? Is it possible to dream of a utopian world in that context? And can modernism, which defines the boundaries of 'us', truly be reborn?