차명희 Korean b.1947

Cha Myung Hi is best known for her instinctive and performative paintings that stand between the abstract and realistic with her signature painting style.

In her previous charcoal series, she first applies gesso on canvas to which she promptly draws with charcoal before it dries, limiting her time frame of being able to create the strokes. However, these dynamic movements of rapid fluidity originate from her unconsciousness that resemble lyrical swiftness in music.

She had previously showcased her high caliber of technique by stroking the charcoal instantly on Hanji paper, traditional paper made of mulberry pulp and water, which could easily be ruined at once if the artist does not have the fine set of patient skills of expressing the strokes with meticulous timing. She has now boldly transitioned into Western mediums of acrylic and charcoal on canvas. Cha Myung Hi’s motifs often spring from the questioning of her inner heart throughout her works, capturing what one cannot express in language. In her recent works, she injects more color into her paintings which creates a dynamic new shift in her artistic practice.

Cha Myung Hi stands as one of the few crucial female artists who represents the development of Korean arts expressing the nature, eternity, and reflection of the inner self rooted in orient experience, paving the way to creating unique works.

Combining a mixture of both Western and Oriental aspects, Cha Myung Hi deliberately produces art that possesses each counterpart. Through her paintings, Cha presents a strong philosophy of Korean art derived from her inner soul, and at the same time, her choice of the medium of adopting Western materials bring a distinctive aspect as well. She orchestrates colors and strokes on the canvas as if a musician plays an impromptu performance which invites us to observe her works just as we would enjoy a spontaneous musical experience.