Interwoven east and west

“Untitled” (acrylic and mixed media on canvas mounted board), by Jung Hur, at the Corey Daniels Gallery, Wells, Maine.

The artist says:

“Over the past few years, my paintings have begun with my own personal symbol, a pair of shapes based on an old-fashioned lock and key. This symbol is based in Yin-Yang philosophy, an ever-swirling way of thinking about complements and opposites, as well as the history of Western painting: A keyhole is a symbol for single-point perspective. Consequently, many keyholes refer to multiple perspectives. This is why the grid is a model for modernist painting: No one perspective is privileged. It is also a direct path for understanding how my work is about diversity and identity.

“My complementary key and keyhole forms echo my now completely interwoven Eastern and Western experience with art. What unfolds in these paintings is the step-by-step process by which a thing like a pig becomes an image, a personal symbol (I recently became a pig farmer), and a broader symbol that others can see (like a piggie bank) that can stand for ideas like prosperity, frugality, or even wealth and financial transactions.’’