LIM HYUN LAK

In a strict sense, Lim Hyun-lak and his works betray the conventional idea of what we call painting. The process of recognition and expression generally found in most paintings such as identifying the object, understanding it and then projecting oneself onto it, are nowhere to be found in Lim's works. Of course Lim paints objects. Trees and the Earth are recurring themes in his works. However, unlike other artists, Lim refrains from endowing them with special meaning or to connect himself to the objects. In other words, he stands apart from his own drawings.

Instead of explicitly expressing what he thinks, Lim allows the paintings to realize on their own. Then what and how does Lim realize this time? In his latest exhibition, Lim endeavors to realize trees and he does so by experiencing and interacting with his objects. In his paintings, Lim and his objects mingle to become one both ideally and conceptually. In a single breath, Lim instantaneously realizes a tree physically and not through some linguistic reasoning. Lim and the trees are inseparable in his paintings. The two interact with each other in a very subtle way. If you look at the trees, you can feel the artist's breath, where he took it and where he stopped. You can even trace each and every brush stroke and feel the energy the artist put into it.

Lim's paintings conform to a certain order. This order is fundamentally different from those upheld by perspectivists or idealists who seek to understand the appearance or essence of an object. In Lim's paintings, trees are not merely objects nor is Lim a mere agent. Between these living and non-living objects exists interaction as strong as the distance between the two. The two mingle and perceive each other within a single time frame and breath. Thus the outcome realized through this process differs from a mere expression or depiction of a concept.

Trees painted on layers of long opaque silk hanging from the ceiling to the ground sway from the slightest whiff from passersby. Overlapping brush strokes with no end in sight decorating the hall create a halcyon atmosphere through its deep, receptive and soft gradations. The painting becomes more than simply trees. It can be a winding road for some and a trace of ascending energy for others. What is significant about the painting, however, is the fact that it touches our subconscious, creating a stir within us as we stand or pass by the painting. Perhaps we can look beyond what is presented before us at imaginary roads relatively easily as we interact with the painting that is lighter than the weight we have to endure in the actual world.

-Shim Sang-yong (Art critic, Professor at Seoul National Univ.)