Jeongeun Han, born and currently based in Seoul, graduated with a BFA in Painting from Sejong University and received her MFA in Korean Painting from the same institution. Han captures the emotional resonances and residue arising from the disappearance and loss of existence, explores their meaning, and expresses them in her own unique painterly language. Han’s paintings press onward to embrace the sublimity found in the fleeting moment, an approach aligned with the effort to capture presence and absence as we perceive them within a finite world, together with the compulsion that flows in between them. Rather than pursuing eternal forms, her work seeks new meaning within the vestiges of disappearance and loss.

Can you tell us about your background and how you started your artistic journey?

I was born in Seoul, where I had easy access to a variety of arts education. Thanks to this environment, I actively engaged with fields like dance, music, and fine arts from an early age. Naturally, I became interested in exploring various ways to express my thoughts, and among them, visual art brought me a special kind of joy.

The process of handling different colors and translating what I observed and felt into a visual form through my fingertips felt incredibly fascinating. Drawing quickly became a natural ‘habit of enjoyment’ for me during my elementary school years, and I’ve continued my artistic practice within that flow ever since.

I started formal, competitive art training when preparing for university. Although it was a high-pressure environment, it actually sparked my competitive spirit and desire for achievement, allowing me to stay happily engaged. However, I faced several setbacks and failures during the university entrance process, and that period became a major turning point for me.

Through those failures, I deeply realized the value of effort and the meaning of earnest dedication. My attitude toward the work I truly desired changed fundamentally.

Since then, my practice has become more than just a means of expression; it’s become a method of understanding myself and navigating life. The process of searching for answers to my complex thoughts and self-imposed questions became my ‘work,’ and my current artistic practice is a direct continuation of that life journey.

What are the main themes or concepts you explore in your work?

I explore the value inherent in loss and dissolution. My focus is less on “disappearance” itself, and more on the sensations that linger in its aftermath. Essentially, I investigate the persistent sense of presence that endures in a state of absence—the finitude and circulation of existence, the traces of time, the emotional afterglow, and the aesthetics of non-presence.

The element of light in my work functions beyond a simple visual effect; it acts as a sensory trace, tracing the spaces where being and emotion once resided. The fine layers, accumulated using an airbrush, simultaneously reveal the fragile texture of fleeting emotions and capture my will to hold onto those transient moments. The resulting surface gently hosts the time and sentiment that, while unseen, are undeniably present.

This painterly approach stems from a deliberate stance: in a contemporary visual culture characterized by indiscriminate and rapid consumption, I choose to focus my gaze on what is slowly fading away. For me, art practice is not merely superficial representation, but a form of meditative practice—a way to venerate existence itself, embrace the process of dissolution, and savor its lingering resonance.

My current painting aims toward embracing the sublime found in the momentary and the ephemeral. This endeavor aligns with the attempt to capture the dynamic flow (or affect) between presence and absence that we sense in our finite world. In this way, my recent works embody my commitment to seeking new meaning within the traces of disappearance and loss, rather than pursuing eternal form.

What challenges have you faced as an artist, and how have you overcome them?

The biggest challenge I face as an artist is the tendency for many people to view emotions like ‘grief’ or ‘loss’ purely negatively, and to try to avoid those feelings altogether. Because of this, my work is often initially read as simply an expression of sadness.

I totally understand where they are coming from. For a long time, I also treated these feelings as just sadness, and I stayed stuck in that emotional space.

However, what I truly want to address in my work is not the sadness itself, but the afterglow of that emotion—the residue and the transformative process that remains after the initial feeling subsides. My persistent challenge has always been figuring out how to convincingly visualize the subtle nuances and texture of this emotional shift.

To overcome this, I’ve dedicated myself to exploring and deepening my understanding of the structure of painting, material properties, and the relationship with light. To genuinely connect with the audience, I also make an effort to listen to others’ experiences and reflect more deeply on social issues and individual lives.

Additionally, I put a lot of effort into titling my work. I want the titles to evoke a sense of the lost romanticism of our time and convey a gradual, forward movement.

While it’s difficult to say I have completely overcome this challenge, I feel these ongoing processes are gradually solidifying my practice and making the work stronger, allowing me to move forward.

In what ways do you think the art world has changed since you started your career?

It hasn’t been long since I began my career as an artist, so it feels a bit cautious to speak definitively about how the art world has changed. However, before I started working as an artist, I didn’t realize how vast and intricately connected the art market is. Through actively participating and learning within it, I’ve come to recognize how much I myself have changed in the process. I also feel that trends and visual languages within the art scene shift very rapidly nowadays. In the midst of these fast changes, I believe it’s becoming increasingly important for artists to maintain their own direction and develop an authentic voice.

How do you approach exhibiting your work? What are your goals when showing your art in public spaces?

I truly see exhibiting a piece as establishing a dynamic dialogue with the physical space itself. Every location—whether it’s a formal gallery or an open public area—has its own unique atmosphere, its own internal “temperature,” and I spend a lot of time analyzing that in the planning stages. I believe that when the space and the artwork interact, both physically and non-physically, they generate a completely new conversation or discourse.

My installation experiments are always focused on tearing down that ‘invisible barrier’ between the audience and the work. For example, when I install pieces so they stand freely or hang from the ceiling, allowing them to gently brush against the air, it’s not just a design choice. It’s about encouraging viewers to step closer, moving beyond distant observation and into the physical realm of the work. Since the thin layers in my pieces are so crucial, I want them to really observe that subtle density. When that boundary is broken, I think it creates a space where visitors naturally stay longer and build a more meaningful, contemplative relationship with the piece.

Ultimately, my main goal for showing work in a public space is to offer the audience a ‘portal’ where their everyday reality and artistic sensibilities cross over. When people step through this portal, I hope the intersection of their real-life sensations and the new perceptions offered by the artwork helps them notice and examine those subtle emotions they might usually overlook. Creating that moment of deep empathy and self-reflective contemplation—that is the fundamental reason why I want to share my work and unlock its potential for a wider audience.

How do your personal experiences and identity influence your art?

My work always begins with my own personal experiences. The significant events I’ve been through naturally became crucial turning points, shaping the direction of my art and establishing my unique perspective on the themes of loss and disappearance.

Text & photo courtesy of Jeongeun Han

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