EDUCATION
2007 B.A. in Theatre and Film, Dankook University

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SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2025 Alteration of Phenomenon: Looking into the Reason I Am Me, Vista Valley Art Center, Gyeonggi-do

2024 Pink Drawing: Coexistence, Gallery Seon, Seoul

2023 The Moment the Relationship Begins, Art Space Polarpo, Seoul

2023 Hana Bank Invitational Exhibition, Seoul

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GROUP EXHIBITIONS & ART FAIRS

2026 K-Art: Moment & Face, Singapore Art Week, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore

2025 Artparment Week 2025, Art Factory NJF in Paju Book City, Paju

2025 Time to Art, Timevillas Suwon, Suwon

2025 Study X PLAS Asia Art Fair, Osaka International Convention Center, Osaka

2025 Sculpture Art Fair Seoul (Formative Art Fair Seoul), COEX, Seoul

2025 And Share, Gallery Kki, Seoul

2025 BE GENTLE WITH US, FEZH, Seoul

2024 Korea-Germany-France-UK Contemporary Artists Exhibition, APY (Art Project Y), Seoul

2024 Shenzhen Art Fair, Shenzhen Convention, Shenzhen

2024 Incheon Asia Art Show, Songdo Convensia, Incheon

2024 KIAF, COEX, Seoul

2024 Redefing of Boundaries, APY (Art Project Y), Seoul

2024 Here and Beyond, Art Space Polarpo, Seoul

2023 expressions and messages, Lee Seoul Gallery, Seoul

2023 Kitsch on the Tap, Boutique Monaco Museum, Seoul

2023 Here and Beyond, Art Space Polarpo, Seoul

2023 What is a Kiss to Us, Art Space Polarpo, Seoul

2023 CANVAS & CORK, TDAHaus, Seoul

2023 Exchange Exhibition, Art Space Polarpo, Seoul

2023 The Moment the Relationship Begins, Art Space Polarpo, Seoul

2022 See's the day Special Exhibition, See's the day, Seoul

2021 Amulet Exhibition, Signature Kitchen Suite Cheongdam Atelier, Seoul​

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INTRODUCTION

"Can a conversation shared face-to-face truly warm our hearts just as much?" – From Ha Ji-won's Work Notes
 

Every painting is a self-portrait. Whether it is a portrait, still life, or even an abstract piece, the artist is always present. The disguise may be more convincing or somewhat unpolished, but the artist’s face is always there. Thus, a person’s painting is, at the same time, their confession.
 

The same holds true for Ha Ji-won’s latest works.
As on the stage where she has stood before, in her new pieces, she wears masks of Cinderella, Snow White, Mickey Mouse, and others. But these are self-portraits in disguise—a persona with a mask.

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Just as the Greek root of "persona," prosopon (πρόσωπον), means both "mask" and "personality" or "hypostasis," the masks in her paintings represent Ha Ji-won's identity and presence. Perhaps, just as personality and a person cannot be separated, masks, too, are inseparable from us.

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Just as speech is impossible without a listener, we have never truly faced the world barefaced. No one has ever encountered raw otherness, nor have they fully revealed themselves. We always wear masks suitable for the moment. What matters is not taking off the mask but facing the self behind it and coexisting with it.

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Ha Ji-won's works are not about the longing to remove masks but about recognizing, accepting, and revealing all the moments she has worn them. Those moments may have felt oppressive at times, they may have been "fucking days," yet even then, she whispered “Be happy” while forcing a smile. Her paintings are a confession of acceptance—that she simply was in all those moments. And perhaps, they are an expression of her quiet wish for a little more freedom.

Thus, the pink drawings in her latest works are the personas she has worn and had to wear, yet they also represent her coexistence with herself.

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— Moon Sung-jun (Art Critic)