SOONIK KWON

Soonik KWON’s artistic process is both unique and delicate. In his Absence of Ego series, the artist first paints a base color on the canvas, then applies a modeling material made by mixing acrylic paint with earth to build three-dimensional dots. Once the dots are fully dried, he rubs graphite over the surface, creating a dark and subtly shimmering texture. Each dot is painted with deep concentration, reflecting a focus on the “present moment” rather than the past or future. Through this meditative process, the artist seeks to transcend the self and capture the essence of time.

In the Interstice – Pile Up & Rub series, the artist blends fine soil with paint and applies it to the canvas stroke by stroke, creating rich, layered color fields. KWON deliberately leaves space between these fields and fills the gaps with graphite through repeated rubbing and accumulation. The originally rough graphite is transformed into a lustrous surface, allowing viewers to perceive subtle shifts in light and shadow depending on their viewing angle. Through this process, emptiness is elevated into a space for communication. The piling up and rubbing of materials is not merely a technique, but a point of convergence for material, time, thought, and sensory perception—reflecting the artist’s understanding of the present moment, a wisdom distilled from years of reflection and creation.

The exhibition Echo Dialogue is, in itself, a form of questioning and responding. What kind of calling do we perceive, and how do we respond within the interstices of KWON’s works? Rather than using words, the artist poses this question metaphorically—through traces of bodily memory and material presence. These silent metaphors resonate in the present moment, becoming subtle yet profound responses.

Soonik KWON was born in 1959 in Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from the Department of Painting at Sejong University. His works are held in the collections of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA, South Korea), Seongnam Arts Center (South Korea), Epoch Art Museum (China), and the Museo de Arte del Tolima (Colombia), among others.