Yang Minhee
Korean, 1984
Education
M.F.A. in Western Painting, Jeju National University, College of Fine Arts
B.F.A. in Western Painting, Jeju National University, College of Fine Arts
Solo Exhibitions (Selected)
2025
7th Solo Exhibition Fragments of Emotions, Art Space H, Seoul
2024
6th Solo Exhibition Ten Eleven, Gallery 41, Seoul
2023
5th Invitational Exhibition And to Draw, Munye Art Center Exhibition Hall 1, Jeju
2022
4th Invitational Exhibition Hongyeon (Red Lotus), Print Bakery Centum City Mall, Busan
3rd Solo Exhibition Hongyeon (Red Lotus), Deldo Museum, Jeju
2020
2nd Solo Exhibition Memory of the Moon, Art Space Pado, Jeju
2019
1st Solo Exhibition Yeonwol (Longing for the Moon), Munye Art Center Exhibition Hall 3, Jeju
Group Exhibitions (Selected)
2025
Elemental Emotions, Raum Art Center, Seoul
When Frozen Ground Melts, Insa Art Center B1, Seoul
2024
Contemporary Art of the Best Jeju Artists, Dream Tower Gallery Lounge, Jeju
Jeju Story, Art Space H, Seoul
Summertime – It’s Youth, Gallery Choi, Seoul
Spirit of the Times, Delmondo Museum, Jeju
2023
Romantic Era, Convensia Gallery, Songdo, Incheon
Yung (Hair Removal), Chronicle of Islands, Obaekjanggun Gallery, Stone Culture Park, Jeju
Exchange Exhibition, Art Project Y, Seoul
Breeze in Jeju, Enfant Dang, Jeju
2022
BTBA (Born To Be Art), Gallery Mondover, Seoul
Empirical Landscape, Dream Tower Gallery Lounge, Jeju
The Beginning, Print Bakery at The Hyundai Seoul, Seoul
2021
Memories of Time and Space, Gallery Remicon, Jeju
Portrait of the Times, Delmondo Museum, Jeju
Art Festa in Jeju: Sanji Chronicles, Sanjicheon Gallery, Jeju
Saetbo Art Market, Obaekjanggun Gallery / Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju
MZ Art, New Open, Gallery ED, Jeju
2020
Find Me – Don’t, Don’t, Don’t, Delmondo Museum, Jeju
Water of Jeju, Jeju National University Museum, Jeju
Art in Everyday Life, Kim Man-duk Memorial Hall, Jeju
Utopia’s Utopia: Opening Exhibition, Art Jeju Space, Jeju
Art Virus, Kyungmin Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeonggi
2019
Carpe Diem: Enjoy Today, Fundraising Exhibition for Education in Seogwipo, Gidang Museum of Art, Jeju
Blan! Blan! Sound of Everyday Life, Maison Glad Hotel, Jeju
The Year of the Pig Has Dawned, New Year Planning Exhibition, Lee Jung-seop Art Museum, Jeju
Introduction
For a long time, I have explored the relationship between natural phenomena and the human inner world. Nature is not a separate entity from us—it is deeply intertwined with the human psyche because we are, after all, part of nature itself. I believe that the essence of human existence and emotion is imbued within the natural world. Through nature, I reflect on the emotions that shape my life.
My work is a visual translation of this psychological dialogue with nature. I perceive nature through the intuitive lens of unconscious experience. To me, the shapes, textures, and compositions in my artwork are not literal depictions, but intuitive reflections of nature’s phenomena—spaces where nature and emotion intersect.
Among various natural motifs, I have long focused on the moon. Though universally familiar, the moon evokes vastly different emotions and memories in each of us. For me, it symbolizes longing. This longing transcends romantic sentiment—it becomes a philosophical question about the origin of being. In my work, the moon is a mediator, a symbol that floats between self and other, inner and outer worlds, presence and absence, concealment and revelation. The moon is both an external object and a manifestation of my inner self.
My artistic philosophy is deeply inspired by Eastern thought, particularly the Tao Te Ching by Laozi and the writings of Zhuangzi. Like the Taoist concept of "mutual arising" (youmu sangsaeng) in Chapter 1 of the Tao Te Ching, existence and non-existence require and reflect each other. This reciprocal relationship is cyclical—like the moon, which waxes and wanes, appears and disappears, never exactly the same yet always recurring. Emotions, too, are like this: uncertain, ever-changing, and cyclical, mirroring the nature of human life.
Zhuangzi’s idea of “soundless music” (musŏng chiŭm), as mentioned in the Fisherman chapter, also underpins my practice. He wrote, “True music has no sound, and true color has no form.” The shapes on my canvas may seem to flow casually, but they carry unspoken emotions and condensed thoughts. The moon I paint is much the same—blurred outlines, bleeding colors, coarse brushstrokes, and clumps of paint all serve to evoke a silent emotional resonance. Even if it does not move, it has moved.
My process begins with sketches and photographs, which I then translate into textured surfaces using modeling paste. I let the surface dry slowly, embracing that time as part of the natural flow. I then apply acrylic paint, letting color and material converge organically. What matters most is not a perfectly controlled outcome, but the serendipitous harmony of materials. I value the transformation, trace, and emotional strata that emerge during the process itself. For me, the process is the completion.
Ultimately, the moon I paint is not a reproduction of nature—it is a metaphor for how I perceive the world, a symbol, and a question about human existence. Through the moon, we engage in mutual reflection. We recognize our ever-shifting presence in the cycles of nature, finding solitude and solace, and eventually returning—again—to the center of life. This is the essence of correspondence.