I always incorporate red into my paintings because it's so rich and vibrant and it helps me accentuate the intensity of the emotions I depict. . But I also use my color palette and a wide range of mediums to convey emotion. For instance, to me yellow can represent depression, confusion, or a complicated situation. I use oil pastels, gouache, watercolor, soft pastels, neocolors, acrylics, oil bars, oil paints, charcoal, ink, and crayons-- I make use of whichever color and whichever material that enables me to make each emotion clear and accessible. For me, the process is what matters: the experience of shaping my artwork, the sensation of my arm moving and the force of my fingers making the marks on the paper.

The primary motivation behind my work is the release and exposition of emotion. Armed with a brush and a canvas, I can express the trapped inner workings of my soul and simultaneously reach out to others who harbor thoughts, feelings, and emotions that may otherwise never be illuminated.. I believe that some emotions are so complex and so intense that they cannot be effectively conveyed through oration or written prose, or even poetry. You can ask someone how they feel and elicit words like "sad" or "confused," but studying their expression, their posture, and the look in their eyes can be worth a thousand words. For me – a Korean American struggling to ascertain my identity and reconcile my goals, passions, and emotions with both traditional Korean culture and mainstream American society – art is the only way to convey the depth and intricacy of my feelings, my unrest, and my story.

I was born in America, educated in America, and I have grown up in the midst of American culture, but I am Korean as well and I was raised by steadfastly traditional Korean parents. My works convey the roller coaster of emotions about finding self. As an artist, I try to communicate my innermost thoughts and feelings through my subjects. The key to the expression of my own identity and cultural struggles is the use of Asian Americans as the subject of my work. As I struggle to define my identity, my artwork becomes an extension of these conflicts. My work is the voice I cannot speak; it is the dream I envision; and it is the purest expression of my soul.       back <