Si On: “I Am An Outcast From The World” is now on view at James Fuentes through March 19, 2023. The power and presence of Si On’s artwork materializes through a method best described as sgraffito. Unplanned, heavy layers of paint are applied to canvas then scraped or scrubbed away. Through repetition of this destructive and creative action the details of a latent, unconscious expression come into view. Image and form ergo directly emerge as lower levels of color penetrate those superficial layers that cover it. This process is also emblematic of the ways in which Si On takes on painting as a place for surfacing deep-seated, unseen emotion that is as universal as it is intimately personal. In a world constructed of unspoken forces, this is no less than a life-sustaining practice of expulsion and transformation.
The influence of Korean shamanism often comes up in discussions of Si On’s work. At this juncture art becomes what she describes as a healing ritual and a purification process. Here she channels those emotions that might culturally be seen as “ugly,” to be denied or suppressed—disappointment, fear, anger, emptiness, violence, grief—so that these may no longer be rendered alienating experiences in the hostile world from which they are borne. This is a freeing of energy through the spirit of art that permits the cohabitation of the brutal and humorous, darkness with light, triumph and tragedy, from birth to death. In a recent conversation Si On expressed of this process, “Assuming that the primal power of shamanism corresponds to the hidden power of art, I work with the hope that my art also has this kind of strength. The same can be said about shamanism itself—it still exists today because many people still need it.”
About Si On
Si On (b. 1979, South Korea) received a PhD and MA in Painting from the Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan; and a BA from Mokwon University, Korea. She has presented solo exhibitions at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, London; Pioneer Works, New York; and T293 Gallery, Rome; and has presented work in group exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland; and The Museum of Kyoto, Japan. Her work is represented in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, New York; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Takahashi Collection, Tokyo; Kyoto National Museum, Kyoto, Japan; and Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles; among others. Si On lives and works in Kraków, Poland.
James Fuentes | 55 Delancey Street, New York
On View Through March 19, 2023
