Artist

In early adulthood, whilst considering the decision to change her career path and become an artist, Mi-Young Choi initially worked with a predominately abstract approach focused on colour and form. However, in recent years she has incorporated more figurative and gestural aspects into her paintings. Still enthralled by colour, she is drawn to compositions referencing colourfully rich and dynamic natural phenomenon, such as sky and sea, and also the vast expanse of space. The sky holds a particular fascination

for her, with an infinite nature lending itself to spiritual and existential themes, as well as literal. Mi-Young sees a link between working a canvas, and contemplating the sky - the seemingly evolving forms and colours of both forever changing, from which ideas can be built and emerge, representing both the subtle and the spectacular. She is also fascinated by how the sky has been approached in the history of art, and has used it a metaphorical backdrop to many of her recent works.

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Mi-Young’s practice sits in the middle of an exchange between the World and her inner self - which is often an anxious and questioning dialogue. In terms of choice of subject matter, associated meanings, and the creative process itself, she finds herself both resisting and embracing change. What she hopes to achieve with a work can evolve over a long period of time as she works incrementally. Mi-Young’s work is often inspired by current events and history, though ambiguity and loose metaphors are prevalent in much of her

work, with scope for broad interpretation and contradictions being channeled by the titles chosen for an individual canvas or series. For her the titles are an important part of the final work, as they can play a part in setting the stage for the viewer’s interpretations of any narrative inferred. Alongside the question of any “deeper meaning” conveyed though, Mi-Young’s work is often an exploration of the phenomenon of colour and the medium of paint itself.

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​The examples exhibited here are from a set of “blue series” - where a colour-blended backdrop symbolizing the sky or ocean depths stages compositions made from allegorical motifs and gestural acts.