Participating in the 19th Yongsan International Art Festival (2022)

From October 4 to October 14, 2022, I participated in the 19th Yongsan International Art Festival (제19회 용산국제아트페스티벌) at the Yongsan Art Hall Exhibition Center in Seoul.

For this edition, I presented my oil painting The Rejected Love (53 x 73 cm) - a satirical work exploring intimacy, illusion, and the fragile theater of human relationships.

The painting depicts two stylized figures standing side by side. Their proximity suggests closeness, yet their expressions and rigid postures betray emotional dissonance. The surface is layered with symbols - a fish suspended above, scattered marks, branches, fragmented faces, inscriptions - elements that interrupt harmony and destabilize the scene.

Through exaggeration and distortion, the work questions romantic idealization. The bodies are exposed yet armored; their faces resemble masks rather than identities. The satire does not mock love itself, but the performative version of it - the way attachment can become spectacle, possession, or projection.

Displayed against the neutral white walls of Yongsan Art Hall, the painting's earthy tones and dense surface created a visual tension that invited closer reading. What appears at first as intimacy gradually reveals irony. What seems decorative becomes disruptive.

The official opening on October 5, 2022, marked the beginning of an exhibition period shaped by quiet observation and exchange. Within that space, The Rejected Love functioned as both image and commentary - a reflection on vulnerability, ego, and the fragile architecture of connection.

Participating in this edition of the festival allowed the work to enter into dialogue beyond its origin - into a context where satire becomes a universal language.

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