“I CREATE PAINTINGS THAT LOOK ‘EXOTIC’ BECAUSE I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO CREATE RELEVANCE BETWEEN MY PAINTINGS AND MY PERSONAL LIFE. MANY PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY INTERPRET MY PAINTING AS A REFLECTION OF ME, BUT I DIDN’T LIKE THAT. I WANT MY ARTWORK TO STAND BY ITSELF.”
– Yaerim Ryu for OWL MAGAZINE, 2022
Yaerim Ryu (b. 1994 in Seoul, Korea) aims to translate virtual narratives – created from sentences and the combinations thereof – into images and to reach an ambiguous place between paintings that are like illustrations and illustrations that are like paintings. The fictional narrative, formed through long –winded description and elaboration of background and setting, becomes the basis for the artist’s work, and in particular, this work can endlessly expand or contract while remaining empty of content, due to the lack of clear narrative structure or message. In this respect, the artist presents herself in her work in the role of an “unreliable narrator”.
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Bad Breath, 2022Painting - Oil on panel38 x 46 cm (15 x 18 in) -
B Grieves Over The Loss Of His Favorite Winter Hat, 2022Painting - Oil on canvas190 x 130 cm (75 x 51 in)
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A Man’s Best Friend, 2022Sculpture - Bronze and urethane paint30 x 24 x 41 cm (12 x 9 x 16 in)Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
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Rites of Baptism, 2021Painting - Oil on panel100 x 80 cm (39 x 32 in)
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There Are 3.2 Million Saunas in Tampere, The Sauna Capital of the World, 2020Painting - Oil on panel162 x 260 cm (64 x 102 in)
