Yooyun Yang
Stranger
Night Gallery
July 8 – September 9, 2023
In the ethereal images of Seoul-based artist Yooyun Yang, photons may not only illuminate the contours that they touch, but also the intangible, emotional substances which rest beneath the surface. Debuting in the United States, Yang’s work can be seen in an enchanting solo exhibition, Stranger at Night Gallery, in downtown Los Angeles.
Stranger
The paintings in this show (all created with acrylic on jangji paper in 2023), are steeped in sensuous atmospheres, wherein subjects endure private moments of reverie. Made focal are various ambiguous expressions and subtle gestures, which are often shown interacting with light in unusual ways. As source material, the artist uses photographs which were either personal snapshots or compiled from online – these are then stripped of the superfluous details and zoomed in to focus on the emotional foundation of her subjects.
A Child
Throughout this collection, close ups of faces and hands are a recurring theme, yet the individuals to whom they belong seem to have been intentionally left anonymous. It is their silent dialogue with luminous entities that symbolizes the greater truths about their own identities, perhaps exposing internal emotions normally kept in the dark. Midnight, for instance, shows the profile of a lady obscured in shadow, gazing out into the shrouded periphery of night. Cutting through the background and perfectly aligning her eyes is a sharp streak of light, lending her outline a bit of its red glow. As if previously heavy with contemplation over past or future events, the ray seems to have struck her anew with a heightened sense of clarity.
Ring
Another such example is Beam of Light, in which a shining strand arches directly across a shaded female face, along the nose and cheek bones. Suddenly, her eyes are alert and determined. While the narratives surrounding these individuals can only be speculated, it is the light that falls upon them that clues us into their personal states of being. Ring shows three fingers idly resting upon a grey surface. Here, light arrives as a sliver, which concentrates like an orb upon the pinky finger. We can almost feel its radiant, warming effect as it envelopes the skin of the unknown, solitary subject.
Beam of Light
Within these paintings, strangers seem to linger in feelings of sadness, longing, and loneliness – all of which we can relate to – yet might just be on the verge of winning the battle, through resolution and acceptance. Maybe it’s because they’ve been touched by light. While Yang’s compositions are simple, they manage to convey rich sentiments through nuanced information, much like visual haikus, if you will. Akin to the elusive nature of light itself, the glimmers of revelation this work offers are fleeting yet vivid, and leaves us feeling soft, hazy, and somewhat sentimental.
Cover image: Midnight; all images courtesy of Night Gallery, photographed by the author.
