Where is Zen

   Zen is free, effortless and is a natural state of existence in all of us. Zen guides us to realize our true reality and identity and frees us from habitual thinking. Although it is all the while there with us, the usual state to which we are accustomed is fraught with difficulty because we don't know our Zen-nature. We become the oblivion within ourselves. We often lose the sense of identity, purpose, or reason. In Zen painting, as well, the struggle is to maintain purity, and not let the ego take over with excess thinking, planning, and judgment which eventually will lead to confusion.

   I grew up in a country area in South Korea, so all my childhood memories were made with Mother Nature. It is apparent that all of my art works are influenced by the natural environment where I grew up. My childhood in nature made a powerful imprint in my mind. Walking in the mountains and playing in the river left a memory of texture in my relationship with the surrounding environment. This imprint of natural surroundings is expressed through my art works with the texture of the handmade paper, and the visual texture of printed lines and brush strokes. The usage of the texture of handmade paper expresses a part of who I am.

The given images in everyday life

   I’m easily amused by what my eyes see in everyday life.
   Be it the door of a house I walk pass by, or be it a street lamp, I survey them as if a scientist is making a careful observation through the microscope. Sometimes, I change their figures in my mind according to how my eyes want to see them. I put on the invisible color spectacles or the desatruation glasses and imagine how the view of my bare eyes could change. While interacting with these selected scenes, I discover a newer and deeper consciousness within myself. This new discovery extends my senses to the present and the ongoing time. These images and the moments of self-identifying lead my brushes onto a canvas.

Copy Right Jeonghan Yun