Nohwan Park

Nohwan Park paints the subtle and uncanny scenes he encounters while wandering the streets: a broken “No Parking” sign, a mannequin dressed in military uniform, a laundry rack in front of a hair salon, a sculpture shaped like ginseng. These ordinary yet peculiar objects—formed by the mingling of distorted personal taste and social indifference—reflect fragmentary glimpses of contemporary society. Instead of rendering these scenes with exacting realism, the artist repeatedly paints and erases them, intentionally leaving behind ambiguous smudges and traces. In doing so, he offers moments of pause—spaces for contemplation within the fast-moving stream of easily consumed and discarded images.

Nohwan Park received his BFA in Painting from Hongik University and earned his MFA in Formative Arts from Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He has held solo exhibitions at venues including Space Willing N Dealing and Gallery Kiche, while steadily developing his painterly practice through numerous group shows. In 2024, he was named as the recipient of the prestigious ‘Jongkundang Art Prize,’ garnering critical attention.

At the core of Nohwan Park’s practice is his distinctive technique. He mixes watercolor with gum arabic, allowing the pigment to remain partially unset, forming a thin, translucent film on the surface. The artist uses this quality to repeatedly wipe away what he has painted and apply new layers over it. Through this process, forms that were once clear gradually turn into uncertain smudges and marks. He believes that this process, which resembles a boring excuse, turns painting into a ‘space of self-reflection,’ rather than an act of representation.

The artist admits, “There are times when I feel helpless—like painting is the only thing I’m capable of doing.” Yet even within this ambient anxiety, he persists, saying, “I try to focus on what I can do, and slowly build up small accomplishments.” The sense of futility—like a joke that has lost its punch—and the self-deprecating tone in his paintings echo the artist’s honest attempt to endure an uncertain reality while searching for his own path.

At this year’s Kiaf, Park unveils new works where layered smudges and accumulated traces take the place of clearly defined imagery. “Although I tend to take a passive stance, I want to explore the possibility of connecting with others through my work,” he notes. In front of his work, viewers are confronted with familiar objects seen anew, and with a young painter who chooses not to offer clear answers, but to keep asking.

Photo Zone, Watercolor on canvas, 170x138cm, 2023