Moon Kyuhwa (b. 1990, Seoul) is a Seoul-based artist who translates personal narratives and lived experiences into a unique visual language of landscapes and interior spaces. She earned her B.F.A. from Gachon University and her M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts at Korea National University of Arts. Moon’s practice captures the subtle intersections between daily routines and broader shifts in the world, ranging from “disasters that infiltrated daily life” during the pandemic to the vital importance of personal routines in restoring one’s sense of self.

Her most recent work delves into internal emotional landscapes, particularly the dissonance between one’s feelings and the external environment. Since her debut, Moon has held several solo exhibitions, including It’s Everywhere (Gallery SP, 2025) and Overwintering (drawingRoom, 2023), and has been featured in the Jeonnam International Sumuk Biennale (2023). She has also collaborated on various projects, including the GOBI Artist Suite at RYSE, Autograph Collection (2023). Through her art, she seeks to provide a space for “emptying out” and reflection, offering the kind of deep empathy and comfort that words often fail to convey.

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

As a child, I always enjoyed drawing alone more than going to school or studying. When I was in middle school, a friend suggested I major in art, but my parents did not believe in my drawings at first. I had never shown them my work process before. Since I kept saying I wanted to pursue art, my mother called me to her office one day, gave me a sheet of A4 paper and a 4B pencil, and told me to draw my hand in front of her. I did, and from then on, they let me focus on my art without interference. 

I realized that I would be doing this for a long time when I was in university. The environment at school was quite poor, and the studios were not in good condition. Despite the four-hour round trip, I worked on my drawings at home and carried them to school. I even hired a truck to move oil paintings that hadn’t dried yet. I also researched acrylics and watercolors to find ways to make my work more portable. Seeing myself so excited and driven to work without being told to, I knew that I would keep doing this. 

Looking back, there has never been anything else I wanted to do. I believe that no two people draw the same and that everyone has something unique to express. I want to continue finding what is truly mine through various experiences. I am moving forward with the strength I gain from that process.

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

I draw stories that start from my own experiences and the things closest to me. I try to look around my surroundings and dive deep into them. I believe that I can express what I have personally experienced best because it is what I know most deeply. Within that, I believe there are stories that only I can tell. 

My work has evolved along the trajectory of my life. During the pandemic, I felt the sense of disaster seeping into daily life while watching green onions being planted in my neighbors’ yards. At a time when my daily life felt broken and I realized the vital importance of structure, I painted the routines that enrich life, such as exercise and baking. When I moved studios, I drew the difficult corners of the new space I was experiencing for the first time—channeling feelings I couldn’t put into words into my drawings. 

My most recent work focuses more on deep, inner emotions. It stems from memories of when my emotions didn’t match the weather. Once, when I was overwhelmed by very difficult feelings, I found myself hating the sun because the day was so bright and sunny. I expressed those emotions by drawing that “hateful” sun and documented periods when I would burst into tears for no reason. 

After hitting rock bottom emotionally, I began to see the emotions of others more deeply. Nowadays, I try to capture the kind of empathy and comfort that is hard to put into words. I hope that my work can be a source of comfort to some, and for others, a time to empty their minds and find stillness.

What is your creative process like? Do you follow a routine or work spontaneously? 

I tend to try to maintain a routine in my daily life. Every morning, I clear my head with a workout before heading to the studio. Once there, I manage my time flexibly depending on my condition and what is needed that day. Some days I just read books, some days I focus only on sketching, and other days I go out to see and experience as much as I can. On some days, I do nothing but paint. I think a lot about what I need most at that specific moment. 

I believe that for work to go well, I have to be genuinely enjoying it and be completely immersed. To achieve that, I feel it is important to take good care of my mental health, physical well-being, and daily life. It’s also important to keep working consistently. When I enter the studio with a cluttered mind, unnecessary thoughts tend to interfere with my work. I find it crucial to be aware of these distractions and clear them out so I can fully focus. 

My best work comes out when I’m so absorbed that I lose track of what I’m doing and can’t even hear the music playing in the background. For that to happen, my mind, body, and space all need to be free of any distractions. I strive to reach that state as often as possible. 

Also, I can often gauge my own mental state by looking at my space. That’s why I try to tidy up and keep everything neat after I finish working. I want to make the space a place where I feel like painting again the very next day. There are many times when I’m too exhausted to do so, but you know that feeling when you look at a certain space and suddenly want to paint or cook? I try to make sure I can feel that inspiration in my daily life every single day.

How do you approach translating an experience or impression into a visual form? 

I work by drawing first and then moving into painting. I draw a lot on paper using various materials like India ink, watercolors, felt-tip pens, and crayons. Then, I spread them out on the floor to see everything at a glance. Once I’ve accumulated enough drawings, I select from them to begin a painting. Because drawing takes so little time, it captures my thoughts spontaneously and even faster than I can think. I really enjoy those moments. When I think too much, my work tends to become overly refined, so I draw often to bring out the raw, unrefined elements. 

When I’m painting, I tend to produce similar pieces for a while. However, once I feel my hands have become too accustomed to the process, I purposely change my materials. I don’t want to just comfortably increase the volume of my work simply because I’ve grown used to it. I actually enjoy the feeling of my hands becoming “unfamiliar” with the work, such as by suddenly switching from oils to acrylics. Using a medium I haven’t touched in a long time makes me feel like a beginner again. I hope there is always something for me to learn through the act of painting. I believe I can only reach the point of completion and show my work to others when there is a clear reason for me to move from one piece to the next.

How do you think about space, structure, or composition as a work gradually takes shape? 

Rather than filling the entire canvas, I try to leave gaps so that air can flow around the center. Throughout the process, I constantly ask and answer myself whether there is a clear reason for each part I fill or leave empty. When I can’t see the path to completion, I turn the piece over and put it away for a few days before looking at it again. The decision of whether a work is finished or not depends entirely on my intuition. While I can’t always have all the answers, I want the marks I leave behind to feel inevitable.

What projects are you currently working on, and what can we expect from you in the future? 

I recently concluded my solo exhibition, Being Everywhere, at Gallery SP in Seoul. In this exhibition, I moved beyond flat paintings to showcase relief-style works using paper pulp, and I plan to continue experimenting with expanding the materiality of painting into three-dimensional forms. I also intend to carry on with my series themed “Emotions and Weather,” exploring how our lives mirror nature and how we are interconnected within it. 

Right now, I am preparing for my next body of work. I still find it difficult to paint with a fixed exhibition schedule already in place. For me, themes naturally emerge and the messages I want to convey come to mind only when I am fully immersed in the act of painting without self-consciousness. 

I want to maintain this approach, even if it is challenging because I hope for my work to be a natural outcome of countless trials rather than something created simply to be shown. I want to produce work that is authentic. Eventually, I hope that everything close to me—everything I see before my eyes—will naturally approach me as a subject of my art for many different reasons.

Text and photo courtesy of Moon Kyuhwa

Website: https://www.moonkyuhwa.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonkyuhwa/