The Columns Gallery Singapore is pleased to present Whispers of Summer Forests, a solo exhibition by Korean artist Whee (b.1984- Cha Won Hee). This marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in Singapore, featuring a new series of lyrical abstract paintings inspired by the brilliant forest landscapes of summer encountered during her travels across various regions in 2024-25. These works capture fleeting sensations of light, air, and movement — not as literal depictions of nature, but as expressions of the energy and consciousness that flow within it.

 

 

Whee’s practice spans multiple mediums, merging sculpture, collage, and painting into cohesive and poetic narratives. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011 and her Master of Fine Arts from Seoul National University in 2015. Her works have been exhibited in major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the Pintô Art Museum in the Philippines, including the exhibition Wild Women Abstractionists on Nature at the Metropolitan Museum. Currently based between Manila and Seoul, Whee continues to explore the infinite energy of nature and the unseen essence beyond form.

 

 

“My generation was captivated and targeted by materialism. I felt compelled to conquer something, and like many modern individuals driven by material desires, I found myself swept up in that pursuit. Yet, even as I grappled with the allure of material life—tempting as it may be—I sought to filter and express those desires through my art.”

In Whee’s paintings, the body becomes a vessel of longing, and the skin and silhouette intertwine with nature. Rather than seeking fulfilment from external sources, she turns inward — transforming her consciousness into visual form. Through this introspective process arises what she describes as an “audacious desire to create something new, even in the barren desert.”

 

 

As her artistic language evolved, Whee’s focus shifted from representing nature’s surface to revealing the invisible force that animates it. She seeks not to depict form but to express the boundless vitality that transcends it, dissolving the boundary between the visible and the unseen, between the material and the spiritual. Her art becomes a meditation on infinite movement and essence, where painting itself is alive with rhythm, breath, and color.

 

“I strive to move beyond form and interpretation, reaching closer to the core of painting itself. Like tendrils that begin and end in places unknown, my work is both gentle and destructive, filled with tenacious vitality. Through rough strokes and vibrant colors, I aim to merge with the infinite — the visible now yearning for the invisible truth of painting.”

– Whee 2024

 

 

In Whispers of Summer Forests, Whee invites viewers into a contemplative realm where the heat and brilliance of summer dissolve into quiet murmurs of energy. Her paintings pulse with vibrant color and movement, evoking the unseen rhythm of life that continues to flow beneath the surface of nature — a whisper between the visible and the infinite.