Mt. Kumgang Blooming Inside an Ink-Colored Flower Bud [Lee Hyun-hee's 'Art Talk']

Park Dae-sung has been producing works that incorporate modern aesthetics while continuing the lineage of traditional ink painting, and his works are characterized by their overwhelming scale. The gaze-drawing power of the large canvas itself, combined with the formative qualities of the images created by the boldly layered ink colors, allows the viewer to enter Park Dae-sung's visual space before they know it.
"Geumganghwagae," created on a large piece of paper measuring 2 meters—much taller than an adult male—is a work that combines the artist's sculptural imagination with the scenery of Mt. Geumgang. Just as the title likens the majestic and mysterious landscape of Mt. Geumgang to a beautiful flower, the breathtaking scenery of Mt. Geumgang is blooming within a single flower bud.
The landscape, which has a round shape as if a single flower bud had been plucked and placed on paper, displays a unique compositional power through a fisheye viewpoint that gathers and arranges the subject in the center of the screen after viewing it from various angles, and the bold omission and emphasis resulting from the distortion of perspective caused by this stand out.
Possessing the power to wield the brush with mastery, Park Dae-seong displays intense and dynamic ink lines and bold, daring brushstrokes. He shapes the breathtaking scenery in the foreground into large flower petals, while capturing the viewer's gaze within with the towering cliffs of the Twelve Thousand Peaks and the refreshing streams of cascading waterfalls. Going beyond merely depicting nature, he brings to the canvas images reinterpreted through his mind, presenting a form that is both fantastical and weighty. Furthermore, the stark contrast in the shades of ink reveals both refined restraint and abstraction, while the lightly applied washes add a modern sensibility without detracting from the gravitas of the ink wash.
Park Dae-sung's works, which convey overwhelming vibrant energy across the entire canvas through the interaction of boldness and delicacy, as well as emphasis and omission, present a spiritual landscape that transcends time and space, as they condense the life force acquired through the contemplation of nature.
Lee Hyun-hee, Head of Archive Team at Seoul Auction
[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter