Artists

진영선

Youngsun Jin

Introduction

진영선은 프레스코와 회화 매체를 기반으로 시간의 층위와 이미지의 재현 방식을 탐구해온 작가이다. 고구려 고분벽화 복원 경험에서 출발한 깊은 기술적 연구를 토대로 전통 프레스코 기법을 현대적 감각으로 확장하며, 벽이라는 장소가 지닌 역사성과 서사적 구조를 동시대 회화로 재구성한다. 그의 작업은 물성과 시간, 기억이 교차하는 지점을 지속적으로 사유하며, 회화가 공간 안에서 작동하는 방식에 대한 새로운 가능성을 제시한다.

JIN Youngsun is an artist whose practice expands the medium of fresco and painting to investigate the layered nature of time and the mechanisms of pictorial representation. Grounded in her technical expertise—developed through the reconstruction of Goguryeo tomb murals—Jin reinterprets historical fresco methodologies within a contemporary visual language. Her work reconstructs the narrative and material agency of the wall, revealing intersections of matter, memory, and temporality, and proposing renewed possibilities for how painting inhabits and activates space.

Biography

Education

JIN Youngsun studied painting at Seoul National University and Pratt Institute Graduate Fine Arts in NY and later at Royal College of Art. JIN attained her PhD from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London with the thesis “An Examination of Fresco Art in Contemporary Art Practices.” JIN was trained as a Fresco Mural artist at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris and at ICCROM Roma which enabled her to reproduce a Goguryeo tumulus fresco mural for the National Museum of Korea in 1996. 

 

Solo Art Exhibits include

Space Museum (Seoul 1985), Casa de La Cultura (Santiago Chile, 1983), East-West Center Gallery (Artist-in-Residence, Hawaii, 1989), Gallery Stendhal (NYC, 1996), Ellen-Murphy Gallery (Seoul, Santa Monica CA, 1999/2000) Lethaby Gallery (London, 2004), Gallery Artlink (Seoul, 2011), and Veke Museum (Jeju Korea, 2025). Participated over 100 Group exhibitions throughout the World.

 

Visiting Artist / Artist-in-Residence

Nov.1984–Jan.1985 Visiting Artist, L’ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France 

Sep.1986– Feb.1987 Fulbright Visiting Artist, New York University, SENAP, New York, NY / San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

June 1989– Aug. 1989 Artist-in-residence, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, 

July 2005 – Aug. 2005 Research Artist, Musée Bartholdi (sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in NY), Colmar, France. Le Ministère de la Culture France.

 

SITE-SPECIFIC FRESCO MURALS(Selected)

  • Three collaborative works were created with Nam June Paik’s video sculptures: <Haeinsa Fantasy> in Haeinsa Buddhist Museum; Dome mural for Joseon Royal Kiln Museum; and <Tiger lives> New Millennium Project, collection of Sejong Cultural Center in Seoul.
  • Murals in Public Space: <Touch of Spring> East West Center Jefferson Hall, Hawaii (1989), <Channeling Time> in Ecology Centre, Mile-end Park, London(2002) , FrescoWave Wall <You Never Walk Alone NJP+BTS> S-Building in Gangneung(2023).

 

Publications

JIN authored books and articles on fresco art, Goguryeo Murals including: “Humanized technology in Nam June Paik’s Art,” 33 Key Figures Who have Shaped Korea (Iljogak, 2012); “Goguryeo Mural Painting and Its Image Restoration,” Goguryeo Research Foundation, Seoul; “Scent of a Century, Light of a Millennium(Illustrations)” Korea University Press, Seoul(2005)  

 

Teaching

JIN has taught at Seoul National University, Korea University, Universidad de Chile, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and in 2013-14 She was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Duke University where she lectured two courses: Korean Renaissance and Europe: A two-point perspective, and Fresco Studio Art. 

 

Art Exhibitions (selected)

 

Organizer

<Artists of Korea – Harmony of the East and the West>, East-West Center, Honolulu (1987); <Cross-Cultural Visions 1950-2010> (KORUS House, Washington, D.C., New York Gallery Korea, Seoul Arts Center), <Beyond the Scene (BTS)> Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul (July – Aug 2022);

 

Curator

Lee Ufan’s < Relatum–The Location > Installation, Korea University Business School Plaza (2022); <Art as Witness> The First Gwangju Biennale Special Exhibition in 1995 (Artists: Tatlin, Joseph Beuys, Diego Rivera, Picasso, Duchamp, Magritte, Miro, Chagall, Gormley, Boltanski);  

 

Collections

Paintings: Samsung Museum of Art, Hyundai Group, Sungkok Art Museum, Sejong Cultural Center, University of the Arts London, Graduate Center of the City University of New York. 

Murals: Ecology Centre Mile-end Park, London, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, Haeinsa Buddhist Museum, Korea University Museum, Joseon Royal Kiln Museum, Bangbae Catholic Church, Kuro Medical Center in Korea.  

Private collections in Korea, USA, Europe and Australia 

 

Awards

Ok-kwan(Jade) Order of Cultural Merits was conferred by the President of Korea.

 

Present

Represented Artist, M Gallery, Seoul

Professor Emerita at Korea University, School of Art and Design, Seoul. 

Member of Board of Trustees, Nam June Paik Cultural Foundation, Seoul.

Director, Charmbeat Fresco Lab, Seoul 

 

Conferences/ Publications/Film related to Nam June Paik, BTS and Hallyu:

 

Conferences

2019   “BTS: Humanized Technology through Art in the Footsteps of Nam June Paik” BTS Insight Forum (Seoul) 

2020   keynote speaker, “THE FUTURE IS NOW: PLANET PAIK, BTS UNIVERSE,” BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference (Kinston University, London) 

2022   - Lecture, “Future is Now – Today’s Bangtan” (Total Museum, July 2022); Organizer, Beyond the Scene Exhibition, (Total Museum, July 1 – August 30, 2022, Seoul)

- “Times Reimagined: PAIK Nam June’s Dream realized in the 21st Century” The 9th World Congress for Hallyu (National Library Conference Hall, Seoul, Oct 2022)

2023 Main Artist, “Hallyu:Korean Wave” Art Exhibition, National Art Gallery (May 2~ Sept 16, 2023 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

2024   “The Future is Now: NJP + BTS” NJP Lecture Series (Ewha Woman’s University, May 2024).

        “From BTS to PAIK Nam June: Korean Icons in Culture and Creativity” Preface Technopreneur Program Seoul (Sept, 2024)

2025 Special Talk, 2025 Purple Festa in JEJU, “RM’s Favorite Artists” Veke Museum, Jeju (Sept 12)

 

Publications

“Bangtan Remixed: A Critical BTS Reader,” 2024 Duke University Press. Artwork <Archive for Bangtan

Universe - YET TO COME>is included with artist statement. 

 

Film

Participant, Documentary film <BTS ARMY:Forever We Are Young> (Producers: Grace Lee & Patty Ahn).

 

Selected Works

25 Steps | 25 계단, 2016년

서광다원의 부드럽고 연속적인 경사는 걷는 동안 거의 인지되지 않을 만큼 미묘한 높낮이 변화를 품고 있다. ‹25 Steps›는 이 매끄러운 지형에 의도적 단절을 만들며, 제주석 바닥을 들어 올려 그 사이로 녹차밭의 풍경을 끼워 넣는 개입이다. 25개의 떠 있는 듯한 디딤판은 주변 경관을 반사하며 자연의 리듬을 잠시 멈추고, 방문자에게 장소를 다시 인식하게 하는 작은 전환점을 만든다. 이 작업은 2012년 서광다원에서 처음 설치된 이후, 2016년에는 연세대학교 캠퍼스로 옮겨 설치되며 장소에 따른 해석을 확장했다.

 

이 조형적 균열은 걷는 이의 시선과 속도를 미묘하게 바꾸어, 익숙한 지형의 곡선을 새로운 단면처럼 드러내게 한다. ‹25 Steps›는 자연과 인공의 대비 속에서 경관을 재프레이밍하는 장치로 작동하며, 설치 장소가 달라질 때마다 주변 환경과의 관계를 새롭게 구축해 자연·예술·사람이 교차하는 다층적 공간 경험을 만들어낸다.

This painting, using fresco technique, is an art archive of the musical journey anthology of BTS from the debut to the present. This screen aims to recreate in fine art format the narratives, symbols, and gestures contained in the boys’ albums and music videos from the very early “Skool Luv Affair” to the recent “YET TO COME” which proclaims that their best is yet to be realized. It is a sincere effort to achieve a union of music, performances, and fine art, to translate temporal beauty into spatial aesthetic.

You Never Walk Alone_Dawning East

Fresco + Patina, Ø 92cm (2022)

이 작품은 향로봉의 실루엣과 동해의 파도가 맞닿는 새벽의 장면을 통해 자연의 숨결과 인간의 내면을 연결한다. 파도는 붓터치로, 바람은 색과 면으로 번지며, 빛은 시간의 결로 응축된다. 중앙의 어린 소나무는 연약하지만 굳건한 생명의 상징으로 서 있으며, 그 존재는 침묵 속의 기도처럼 빛과 공명한다. 파티나 기법으로 새겨진 “You Never Walk Alone”은 고독과 희망의 공존을 말하는, 자연과 인간의 미학적 화음이다.

This work captures dawn where Peak Hyangro’s silhouette meets the waves of the East Sea, linking nature’s breath with human introspection. The sea becomes brushstrokes, wind unfolds in color, and light condenses into the texture of time. A young pine stands fragile yet steadfast—an emblem of endurance amid silence. The patina lettering “You Never Walk Alone” embodies the coexistence of solitude and hope, forming a poetic harmony between nature and humanity through the quiet resonance of light.

Yoonseul | 윤슬, 2017

이 작품은 밤·새벽·낮, 세 축의 시간이 서로를 비추며 윤회하는 장면을 담는다. 주문진의 버스정류장은 정지되어 있으나, 그 너머의 바다는 쉼 없이 출렁인다. 정지와 흐름, 고독과 동행, 침묵과 빛이 교차하는 경계 위에서 ‘혼자 걷는 이의 내면’을 서정적으로 시각화한다. 왼편의 밤은 기다림의 시간, 중앙의 동터오는 새벽은 탄생과 희망, 오른편의 낮은 동행의 확신을 품는다. 구리 산화의 흔적으로 새겨진 문장 “You Never Walk Alone”은 기억의 시간성을 품은 시각적 언어로, 어둠이 스러지고 빛이 태어나는 찰나, 그 경건한 순간의 시학을 담은 조형적 음악이다.

This work captures the cyclical reflection of three temporal axes—night, dawn, and day—each illuminating the other in perpetual renewal. The bus stop at Jumunjin stands still, yet beyond it, the sea endlessly stirs. On the boundary where stillness meets movement, solitude meets companionship, and silence meets light, the artist renders the inner landscape of one who walks alone in a language of lyricism.

Night on the left embodies waiting; dawn in the center carries birth and hope; and day on the right holds the assurance of togetherness. The inscription “You Never Walk Alone,” etched in traces of oxidized copper, becomes a visual language of time and memory, a sculptural music of devotion, capturing the sacred instant when darkness fades and light is born

Times Reimagined _Indigo

Fresco + Mixed medium, 80cm x 62cm (2025)

RM에게 Indigo는 ‘침묵을 말하는’ 방법—혼란을 일으키지 않으면서도 진실하게 자신을 표현하는 방식이다. 푸른 빛의 볼록 창을 통과하며 굴절된 햇살은 시간이 멈춘 듯한 고요를 새긴다. Indigo에서 빛은 음악과 시각의 경계를 넘나드는 내면적 사유의 매개체다. 앨범 커버에 드리운 길고 가는 그림자는 창틀을 스쳐 흐르며, 그 안에 ‘시간의 잔향’과 ‘사라짐의 흔적’을 담아낸다. 두 세계의 빛은 서로 다른 시대와 매체를 관통하면서도, ‘침묵의 서정’이라는 동일한 진동수로 만난다. 그 침묵은 외적 정적이 아니라, 내면 깊은 곳에서 발화되는 예술의 언어이자, 인간이 시간 속에서 자신을 인식하는 가장 투명한 순간이다.

For RM, Indigo is a way of “speaking through silence”—a means of expressing truth without creating noise. As sunlight refracts through the convex blue window, it inscribes a stillness where time seems suspended. 

In Indigo, light becomes a medium of introspection, crossing the threshold between sound and vision. The elongated shadow cast across the album cover drifts along the window frame, carrying within it the “resonance of time” and “trace of disappearance.” The light of these two worlds intersects across different eras and media, vibrating on the same frequency of the lyricism of silence. That silence is not external stillness, but the language of art that arises from within—the most transparent moment in which humanity becomes aware of itself through time.

Times Reimagined _Trivia

Fresco + Mixed medium, 80cm x 62cm (2025)

RM이 웸블리 무대에서 그린 레이저 하트는 단순한 장식이 아니라 ‘빛으로 드러난 내면의 고백’이다. 그 섬세한 곡선은 거대한 공간 속에서도 개인적 사유와 공동체적 공명을 교차시키며, 시간의 흐름과 흔적의 미학을 시각화한다. 달항아리의 비움과 불완전한 원형은 절제된 아름다움 속에서 존재의 본질을 드러내며, 빛과 물질은 각각 ‘사라짐과 남음’이라는 두 미적 차원을 완성한다.

‘우주적 서사’를 표현한 각자(刻字)는 빛을 받아 음영을 드리우며, 불교가 말하는 ‘공(空)의 형상’을 시각적으로 구현한다.

RM’s laser heart at Wembley was not decoration but a luminous confession—an arc of light bridging solitude and collective resonance. Its transient trace embodies the aesthetics of time and remnant. The moon jar, with its imperfect symmetry and quiet emptiness, reveals the essence of being through restraint. Together, light and clay articulate two dimensions of beauty: disappearance and persistence—the visible dialogue between matter and spirit.

The engraved characters that express the cosmic narrative receive light and cast shadows, visually embodying the Buddhist concept of śūnyatā—the form of emptiness.

Times Reimagined _ Dionysus

Fresco, Copper Patina 92 × 60 cm 2023

〈Times Reimagined _ Dionysus〉는 시간과 신화를 재구성한 제의적 회화로, 고척 스카이돔에서 펼쳐진 BTS의 디오니소스적 무대를 신화적 상징으로 변환한다. 기하학적 선과 산화된 청동빛의 표면은 질서와 혼돈의 긴장을 표현하며, 과거의 신화를 통해 현재의 예술을, 현재의 예술을 통해 미래의 신화를 상상하는 조형적 신전이다.

RM’s laser heart at Wembley was not decoration but a luminous confession—an arc of light bridging solitude and collective resonance. Its transient trace embodies the aesthetics of time and remnant. The moon jar, with its imperfect symmetry and quiet emptiness, reveals the essence of being through restraint. Together, light and clay articulate two dimensions of beauty: disappearance and persistence—the visible dialogue between matter and spirit.

The engraved characters that express the cosmic narrative receive light and cast shadows, visually embodying the Buddhist concept of śūnyatā—the form of emptiness.

The Voice of Time_Sound Wave

Fresco, Mixed Media 50 × 90 cm 2022

〈시간의 소리〉는 예술이 시간의 울림을 감각으로 변환하는 시각적 명상이다. 빛과 소리, 리듬과 색이 서로 공명하며, 베토벤과 드보르자크의 악보, 그리고 BTS의 음악이 한 화면에서 만나 고전과 대중, 서양과 한국의 정서가 융합된다. 이는 “보이는 음악, 들리는 색채”라는 새로운 미학적 전이를 구현한다.

<The Voice of Time〉 is a visual meditation that translates the resonance of time into sensory form. Light, sound, rhythm, and colour intertwine, uniting the scores of Beethoven and Dvořák with the sonic energy of BTS. Across this fusion of classical and contemporary, Western and Korean sensibilities, the work embodies a new aesthetic transformation—music that can be seen, and colour that can be heard.

 

<The Voice of Time〉 is a visual meditation that translates the resonance of time into sensory form. Light, sound, rhythm, and colour intertwine, uniting the scores of Beethoven and Dvořák with the sonic energy of BTS. Across this fusion of classical and contemporary, Western and Korean sensibilities, the work embodies a new aesthetic transformation—music that can be seen, and colour that can be heard.

Voice of Zero – Zero O’Clock

110 x 110 x 24cm, Fresco (2020)

<0의 소리>는 의미가 사라진 자리, 아무것도 존재하지 않는 공(空)의 순간에서 시작된다. 그러나 그 침묵은 완전한 무(無)가 아니라, ‘새로움이 태어날 가능성의 진공’이다. 바로 그 순간, 초침과 분침이 겹치는 0시(Zero O’Clock), 세상은 잠시 숨을 멈추고, 인간은 새로운 호흡을 얻는다, BTS의 가사처럼. 그 짧은 순간의 ‘멈춤’은 ‘시작’으로 전환된다. 표면의 색채는 침묵을 통과한 빛의 잔향으로 남는다.

 

“초침과 분침이 겹칠 때 세상은 아주 잠깐 숨을 참아 Zero O’Clock… 

Turn this all around, 모든 게 새로운 Zero O’Clock.”

〈Times Reimagined – Dance〉 embodies an intersection of tradition and modernity. The restrained gestures of Salpuri and BTS Jimin’s choreography evoke “ritual as art,” while the folding-screen format visualizes the flow of time and body. Soft pastel hues and dynamic brushstrokes intertwine han (sorrow) and liberation, creating a new aesthetic rite where tradition and pop culture converge. Through this work, I seek to articulate the idea of “the union of entertainment and art” not as a superficial fusion but as a contemporary translation of Korean aesthetics

Times Reimagined_ Dance

Fresco folding screen, 160cm x 130cm (2021)

전통과 현대의 미학이 교차하는 장(場)이다. 살풀이춤의 절제된 선과 BTS 지민의 몸짓은 ‘예술로서의 제의’를 상징하며, 병풍 형식의 구성은 시간과 신체의 흐름을 시각화한다. 파스텔 색조와 역동적 붓터치가 한(恨)과 해방의 감정을 교차시키며, 전통과 팝이 만나는 새로운 미학적 의례를 제시한다. 이 작품을 통해 ‘최고의 엔터테인먼트 문화와 예술의 결합’이란 구호를, 단순한 대중성과 고급예술의 융합이 아닌, 한국적 미학의 동시대적 번역으로 이해하고자 한다.

〈Times Reimagined – Dance〉 embodies an intersection of tradition and modernity. The restrained gestures of Salpuri and BTS Jimin’s choreography evoke “ritual as art,” while the folding-screen format visualizes the flow of time and body. Soft pastel hues and dynamic brushstrokes intertwine han (sorrow) and liberation, creating a new aesthetic rite where tradition and pop culture converge. Through this work, I seek to articulate the idea of “the union of entertainment and art” not as a superficial fusion but as a contemporary translation of Korean aesthetics

frozen landscape_round

Fresco Astronomics(지도Ⅰ)

Fresco Astronomics(지도Ⅱ)

VEKE Museum Voice of Time

Voice of Time

Reflection of Time

Times Reimagined _Trivia

Fresco + Mixed medium, 80cm x 62cm (2025)

© 2025 M Gallery. All rights reserved.

Artists

진영선

Youngsun Jin

Introduction

진영선은 프레스코와 회화 매체를 기반으로 시간의 층위와 이미지의 재현 방식을 탐구해온 작가이다. 고구려 고분벽화 복원 경험에서 출발한 깊은 기술적 연구를 토대로 전통 프레스코 기법을 현대적 감각으로 확장하며, 벽이라는 장소가 지닌 역사성과 서사적 구조를 동시대 회화로 재구성한다. 그의 작업은 물성과 시간, 기억이 교차하는 지점을 지속적으로 사유하며, 회화가 공간 안에서 작동하는 방식에 대한 새로운 가능성을 제시한다.

JIN Youngsun is an artist whose practice expands the medium of fresco and painting to investigate the layered nature of time and the mechanisms of pictorial representation. Grounded in her technical expertise—developed through the reconstruction of Goguryeo tomb murals—Jin reinterprets historical fresco methodologies within a contemporary visual language. Her work reconstructs the narrative and material agency of the wall, revealing intersections of matter, memory, and temporality, and proposing renewed possibilities for how painting inhabits and activates space.

Biography

Education

JIN Youngsun studied painting at Seoul National University and Pratt Institute Graduate Fine Arts in NY and later at Royal College of Art. JIN attained her PhD from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London with the thesis “An Examination of Fresco Art in Contemporary Art Practices.” JIN was trained as a Fresco Mural artist at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris and at ICCROM Roma which enabled her to reproduce a Goguryeo tumulus fresco mural for the National Museum of Korea in 1996. 

 

Solo Art Exhibits include

Space Museum (Seoul 1985), Casa de La Cultura (Santiago Chile, 1983), East-West Center Gallery (Artist-in-Residence, Hawaii, 1989), Gallery Stendhal (NYC, 1996), Ellen-Murphy Gallery (Seoul, Santa Monica CA, 1999/2000) Lethaby Gallery (London, 2004), Gallery Artlink (Seoul, 2011), and Veke Museum (Jeju Korea, 2025). Participated over 100 Group exhibitions throughout the World.

 

Visiting Artist / Artist-in-Residence

Nov.1984–Jan.1985 Visiting Artist, L’ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France 

Sep.1986– Feb.1987 Fulbright Visiting Artist, New York University, SENAP, New York, NY / San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

June 1989– Aug. 1989 Artist-in-residence, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, 

July 2005 – Aug. 2005 Research Artist, Musée Bartholdi (sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in NY), Colmar, France. Le Ministère de la Culture France.

 

SITE-SPECIFIC FRESCO MURALS(Selected)

  • Three collaborative works were created with Nam June Paik’s video sculptures: <Haeinsa Fantasy> in Haeinsa Buddhist Museum; Dome mural for Joseon Royal Kiln Museum; and <Tiger lives> New Millennium Project, collection of Sejong Cultural Center in Seoul.
  • Murals in Public Space: <Touch of Spring> East West Center Jefferson Hall, Hawaii (1989), <Channeling Time> in Ecology Centre, Mile-end Park, London(2002) , FrescoWave Wall <You Never Walk Alone NJP+BTS> S-Building in Gangneung(2023).

 

Publications

JIN authored books and articles on fresco art, Goguryeo Murals including: “Humanized technology in Nam June Paik’s Art,” 33 Key Figures Who have Shaped Korea (Iljogak, 2012); “Goguryeo Mural Painting and Its Image Restoration,” Goguryeo Research Foundation, Seoul; “Scent of a Century, Light of a Millennium(Illustrations)” Korea University Press, Seoul(2005)  

 

Teaching

JIN has taught at Seoul National University, Korea University, Universidad de Chile, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and in 2013-14 She was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Duke University where she lectured two courses: Korean Renaissance and Europe: A two-point perspective, and Fresco Studio Art. 

 

Art Exhibitions (selected)

 

Organizer

<Artists of Korea – Harmony of the East and the West>, East-West Center, Honolulu (1987); <Cross-Cultural Visions 1950-2010> (KORUS House, Washington, D.C., New York Gallery Korea, Seoul Arts Center), <Beyond the Scene (BTS)> Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul (July – Aug 2022);

 

Curator

Lee Ufan’s < Relatum–The Location > Installation, Korea University Business School Plaza (2022); <Art as Witness> The First Gwangju Biennale Special Exhibition in 1995 (Artists: Tatlin, Joseph Beuys, Diego Rivera, Picasso, Duchamp, Magritte, Miro, Chagall, Gormley, Boltanski);  

 

Collections

Paintings: Samsung Museum of Art, Hyundai Group, Sungkok Art Museum, Sejong Cultural Center, University of the Arts London, Graduate Center of the City University of New York. 

Murals: Ecology Centre Mile-end Park, London, East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, Haeinsa Buddhist Museum, Korea University Museum, Joseon Royal Kiln Museum, Bangbae Catholic Church, Kuro Medical Center in Korea.  

Private collections in Korea, USA, Europe and Australia 

 

Awards

Ok-kwan(Jade) Order of Cultural Merits was conferred by the President of Korea.

 

Present

Represented Artist, M Gallery, Seoul

Professor Emerita at Korea University, School of Art and Design, Seoul. 

Member of Board of Trustees, Nam June Paik Cultural Foundation, Seoul.

Director, Charmbeat Fresco Lab, Seoul 

 

Conferences/ Publications/Film related to Nam June Paik, BTS and Hallyu:

 

Conferences

2019   “BTS: Humanized Technology through Art in the Footsteps of Nam June Paik” BTS Insight Forum (Seoul) 

2020   keynote speaker, “THE FUTURE IS NOW: PLANET PAIK, BTS UNIVERSE,” BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference (Kinston University, London) 

2022   - Lecture, “Future is Now – Today’s Bangtan” (Total Museum, July 2022); Organizer, Beyond the Scene Exhibition, (Total Museum, July 1 – August 30, 2022, Seoul)

- “Times Reimagined: PAIK Nam June’s Dream realized in the 21st Century” The 9th World Congress for Hallyu (National Library Conference Hall, Seoul, Oct 2022)

2023 Main Artist, “Hallyu:Korean Wave” Art Exhibition, National Art Gallery (May 2~ Sept 16, 2023 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

2024   “The Future is Now: NJP + BTS” NJP Lecture Series (Ewha Woman’s University, May 2024).

        “From BTS to PAIK Nam June: Korean Icons in Culture and Creativity” Preface Technopreneur Program Seoul (Sept, 2024)

2025 Special Talk, 2025 Purple Festa in JEJU, “RM’s Favorite Artists” Veke Museum, Jeju (Sept 12)

 

Publications

“Bangtan Remixed: A Critical BTS Reader,” 2024 Duke University Press. Artwork <Archive for Bangtan

Universe - YET TO COME>is included with artist statement. 

 

Film

Participant, Documentary film <BTS ARMY:Forever We Are Young> (Producers: Grace Lee & Patty Ahn).

 

Selected Works

Archive for Bangtan Universe _YET TO COME

Four-panel folding screen, Fresco, 180x160cm (2022~2025)

프레스코 기법으로 제작된 이 작품은 BTS의 데뷔부터 현재까지, 앨범의 시작과 끝에 담긴 음악 여정 엔솔로지를 예술 아카이브 형식으로 풀어본 작품이다. <SKOOL LUV AFFAIR>부터, “아직 최고의 순간은 오지 않았다”라는 <YET TO COME>에 이르기까지 앨범, 뮤직비디오를 비롯한 다양한 영상들에서 만나는 서사, 상징, 조형적인 언어를 조합하여 새로운 조형 예술의 옷을 입혀본 것이다. 음악, 퍼포먼스와 조형예술의 만남을, 의미와 표현과 아름다움으로 빚어보려는 진지한 모색이다.

This painting, using fresco technique, is an art archive of the musical journey anthology of BTS from the debut to the present. This screen aims to recreate in fine art format the narratives, symbols, and gestures contained in the boys’ albums and music videos from the very early “Skool Luv Affair” to the recent “YET TO COME” which proclaims that their best is yet to be realized. It is a sincere effort to achieve a union of music, performances, and fine art, to translate temporal beauty into spatial aesthetic.

You Never Walk Alone_Dawning East

Fresco + Patina, Ø 92cm (2022)

이 작품은 향로봉의 실루엣과 동해의 파도가 맞닿는 새벽의 장면을 통해 자연의 숨결과 인간의 내면을 연결한다. 파도는 붓터치로, 바람은 색과 면으로 번지며, 빛은 시간의 결로 응축된다. 중앙의 어린 소나무는 연약하지만 굳건한 생명의 상징으로 서 있으며, 그 존재는 침묵 속의 기도처럼 빛과 공명한다. 파티나 기법으로 새겨진 “You Never Walk Alone”은 고독과 희망의 공존을 말하는, 자연과 인간의 미학적 화음이다.

This work captures dawn where Peak Hyangro’s silhouette meets the waves of the East Sea, linking nature’s breath with human introspection. The sea becomes brushstrokes, wind unfolds in color, and light condenses into the texture of time. A young pine stands fragile yet steadfast—an emblem of endurance amid silence. The patina lettering “You Never Walk Alone” embodies the coexistence of solitude and hope, forming a poetic harmony between nature and humanity through the quiet resonance of light.

You Never Walk Alone

Fresco, Ø92cm (2022)

이 작품은 밤·새벽·낮, 세 축의 시간이 서로를 비추며 윤회하는 장면을 담는다. 주문진의 버스정류장은 정지되어 있으나, 그 너머의 바다는 쉼 없이 출렁인다. 정지와 흐름, 고독과 동행, 침묵과 빛이 교차하는 경계 위에서 ‘혼자 걷는 이의 내면’을 서정적으로 시각화한다. 왼편의 밤은 기다림의 시간, 중앙의 동터오는 새벽은 탄생과 희망, 오른편의 낮은 동행의 확신을 품는다. 구리 산화의 흔적으로 새겨진 문장 “You Never Walk Alone”은 기억의 시간성을 품은 시각적 언어로, 어둠이 스러지고 빛이 태어나는 찰나, 그 경건한 순간의 시학을 담은 조형적 음악이다.

This work captures the cyclical reflection of three temporal axes—night, dawn, and day—each illuminating the other in perpetual renewal. The bus stop at Jumunjin stands still, yet beyond it, the sea endlessly stirs. On the boundary where stillness meets movement, solitude meets companionship, and silence meets light, the artist renders the inner landscape of one who walks alone in a language of lyricism.

Night on the left embodies waiting; dawn in the center carries birth and hope; and day on the right holds the assurance of togetherness. The inscription “You Never Walk Alone,” etched in traces of oxidized copper, becomes a visual language of time and memory, a sculptural music of devotion, capturing the sacred instant when darkness fades and light is born

Times Reimagined _Indigo

Fresco + Mixed medium, 80cm x 62cm (2025)

RM에게 Indigo는 ‘침묵을 말하는’ 방법—혼란을 일으키지 않으면서도 진실하게 자신을 표현하는 방식이다. 푸른 빛의 볼록 창을 통과하며 굴절된 햇살은 시간이 멈춘 듯한 고요를 새긴다. Indigo에서 빛은 음악과 시각의 경계를 넘나드는 내면적 사유의 매개체다. 앨범 커버에 드리운 길고 가는 그림자는 창틀을 스쳐 흐르며, 그 안에 ‘시간의 잔향’과 ‘사라짐의 흔적’을 담아낸다. 두 세계의 빛은 서로 다른 시대와 매체를 관통하면서도, ‘침묵의 서정’이라는 동일한 진동수로 만난다. 그 침묵은 외적 정적이 아니라, 내면 깊은 곳에서 발화되는 예술의 언어이자, 인간이 시간 속에서 자신을 인식하는 가장 투명한 순간이다.

For RM, Indigo is a way of “speaking through silence”—a means of expressing truth without creating noise. As sunlight refracts through the convex blue window, it inscribes a stillness where time seems suspended. 

In Indigo, light becomes a medium of introspection, crossing the threshold between sound and vision. The elongated shadow cast across the album cover drifts along the window frame, carrying within it the “resonance of time” and “trace of disappearance.” The light of these two worlds intersects across different eras and media, vibrating on the same frequency of the lyricism of silence. That silence is not external stillness, but the language of art that arises from within—the most transparent moment in which humanity becomes aware of itself through time.

Times Reimagined _Trivia

Fresco + Mixed medium, 80cm x 62cm (2025)

RM이 웸블리 무대에서 그린 레이저 하트는 단순한 장식이 아니라 ‘빛으로 드러난 내면의 고백’이다. 그 섬세한 곡선은 거대한 공간 속에서도 개인적 사유와 공동체적 공명을 교차시키며, 시간의 흐름과 흔적의 미학을 시각화한다. 달항아리의 비움과 불완전한 원형은 절제된 아름다움 속에서 존재의 본질을 드러내며, 빛과 물질은 각각 ‘사라짐과 남음’이라는 두 미적 차원을 완성한다.

‘우주적 서사’를 표현한 각자(刻字)는 빛을 받아 음영을 드리우며, 불교가 말하는 ‘공(空)의 형상’을 시각적으로 구현한다.

RM’s laser heart at Wembley was not decoration but a luminous confession—an arc of light bridging solitude and collective resonance. Its transient trace embodies the aesthetics of time and remnant. The moon jar, with its imperfect symmetry and quiet emptiness, reveals the essence of being through restraint. Together, light and clay articulate two dimensions of beauty: disappearance and persistence—the visible dialogue between matter and spirit.

The engraved characters that express the cosmic narrative receive light and cast shadows, visually embodying the Buddhist concept of śūnyatā—the form of emptiness.

Times Reimagined _ Dionysus

Fresco, Copper Patina 92 × 60 cm 2023

〈Times Reimagined _ Dionysus〉는 시간과 신화를 재구성한 제의적 회화로, 고척 스카이돔에서 펼쳐진 BTS의 디오니소스적 무대를 신화적 상징으로 변환한다. 기하학적 선과 산화된 청동빛의 표면은 질서와 혼돈의 긴장을 표현하며, 과거의 신화를 통해 현재의 예술을, 현재의 예술을 통해 미래의 신화를 상상하는 조형적 신전이다.

〈Times Reimagined _ Dionysus〉 reimagines myth and time as a ritualistic painting. Inspired by BTS’s Dionysian performance, it translates the stage into sacred geometry and oxidized bronze tones, expressing the tension between order and chaos. The work envisions a sculptural temple where past myth dialogues with present art, and contemporary creation becomes the seed of future myth.

The Voice of Time_Sound Wave

Fresco, Mixed Media 50 × 90 cm 2022

〈시간의 소리〉는 예술이 시간의 울림을 감각으로 변환하는 시각적 명상이다. 빛과 소리, 리듬과 색이 서로 공명하며, 베토벤과 드보르자크의 악보, 그리고 BTS의 음악이 한 화면에서 만나 고전과 대중, 서양과 한국의 정서가 융합된다. 이는 “보이는 음악, 들리는 색채”라는 새로운 미학적 전이를 구현한다.

<The Voice of Time〉 is a visual meditation that translates the resonance of time into sensory form. Light, sound, rhythm, and colour intertwine, uniting the scores of Beethoven and Dvořák with the sonic energy of BTS. Across this fusion of classical and contemporary, Western and Korean sensibilities, the work embodies a new aesthetic transformation—music that can be seen, and colour that can be heard.

Voice of Zero – Zero O’Clock

110 x 110 x 24cm, Fresco (2020)

<0의 소리>는 의미가 사라진 자리, 아무것도 존재하지 않는 공(空)의 순간에서 시작된다. 그러나 그 침묵은 완전한 무(無)가 아니라, ‘새로움이 태어날 가능성의 진공’이다. 바로 그 순간, 초침과 분침이 겹치는 0시(Zero O’Clock), 세상은 잠시 숨을 멈추고, 인간은 새로운 호흡을 얻는다, BTS의 가사처럼. 그 짧은 순간의 ‘멈춤’은 ‘시작’으로 전환된다. 표면의 색채는 침묵을 통과한 빛의 잔향으로 남는다.

 

“초침과 분침이 겹칠 때 세상은 아주 잠깐 숨을 참아 Zero O’Clock… 

Turn this all around, 모든 게 새로운 Zero O’Clock.”

〈Voice of Zero – Zero O’Clock〉 begins in the void — the place where meaning has disappeared, where nothing exists. Yet that silence is not absolute nothingness; it is a vacuum charged with the potential for creation. At that very instant, when the hour and minute hands align at Zero O’Clock, the world holds its breath, and humanity draws a new one. As BTS’s lyrics say,

 

 “When the hour and minute hands overlap, the world holds its breath for a second… 

Turn this all around, everything becomes new at Zero O’Clock.”

That brief pause becomes the threshold of a beginning. The colors that remain upon the surface are the lingering resonance of light that has passed through silence.

Times Reimagined_ Dance

Fresco folding screen, 160cm x 130cm (2021)

전통과 현대의 미학이 교차하는 장(場)이다. 살풀이춤의 절제된 선과 BTS 지민의 몸짓은 ‘예술로서의 제의’를 상징하며, 병풍 형식의 구성은 시간과 신체의 흐름을 시각화한다. 파스텔 색조와 역동적 붓터치가 한(恨)과 해방의 감정을 교차시키며, 전통과 팝이 만나는 새로운 미학적 의례를 제시한다. 이 작품을 통해 ‘최고의 엔터테인먼트 문화와 예술의 결합’이란 구호를, 단순한 대중성과 고급예술의 융합이 아닌, 한국적 미학의 동시대적 번역으로 이해하고자 한다.

〈Times Reimagined – Dance〉 embodies an intersection of tradition and modernity. The restrained gestures of Salpuri and BTS Jimin’s choreography evoke “ritual as art,” while the folding-screen format visualizes the flow of time and body. Soft pastel hues and dynamic brushstrokes intertwine han (sorrow) and liberation, creating a new aesthetic rite where tradition and pop culture converge. Through this work, I seek to articulate the idea of “the union of entertainment and art” not as a superficial fusion but as a contemporary translation of Korean aesthetics

frozen landscape_round

Fresco Astronomics(지도Ⅰ)

Fresco Astronomics(지도Ⅱ)

VEKE Museum Voice of Time

Voice of Time

Reflection of Time

Channeling Time III_pyramid

© 2025 M Gallery. All rights reserved.