Golden Solitude, Sea of Storms

Written By Kevin Roque

Commonly known as The Painter of Storms, Byun Shiji was born in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. He embarked on a quest to embody the unique beauty of Korea, reflecting its customs, scenery, and natural characteristics. The artist turned his focus to Jeju as his subject, recognizing the lives of the Jeju people who struggled to survive in its harsh environment and cultural climate, along with its historical nature as an island of exile and persecution. It is easy to assume that his black and ochre paintings depict certain places and landscapes on Jeju Island, featuring his favorite subjects such as stone fences, wind, sea, ponies, and crows. By achieving uniqueness in his art style, he became known as a pioneer of Jeju Style Painting, leaving a legacy in Korean art history.

The main exhibition, held in conjunction with the immersive media exhibition by Public Storage, Byun Shiji: Golden Solitude, Sea of Storms, showcases works of Byun Shiji's Jeju Style Painting. This exhibition highlights the artistic world of Byun Shiji, who established an exclusive painting style by discovering the original essence of Jeju despite the profound wanderings and solitude encountered throughout his life and artistic journey. It portrays human emotions and spirituality, such as inherent existential isolation, perseverance, and the pursuit of the ideal.

Source:

Exhibition notes from Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art.

Kevin Roque

Utilizing a collage approach in drawing, Kevin Roque offers enigmatic works that touch on societal issues and literary perspectives. Roque graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2022. Before this, he was a self-taught artist, creating illustrations and book covers for locally published books. Roque has participated in various group exhibitions in Metro Manila since 2010 and has had solo exhibitions at the Prism Gallery and the Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (CANVAS) Gallery. He also joined local artist residencies such as CANVAS Artist in Residence in Batangas and Linangan Art Residency in Cavite. Recently, he got shortlisted for the first SANAG UP Art Prize. Roque has been a member of several artist groups, including the UGATlahi Artist Collective, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (InK), and the Malate Literary Folio.

As a skilled worker who values technical skill and craftsmanship, he uses graphite in drawing to capture the gritty details and nuances of his subjects, making it a powerful storytelling tool to illustrate issues such as inequality, labor conditions, or societal injustices. In his compositions, he seemingly blurs notions of reality and perception. This deliberate blurring of boundaries adds layers of depth and intrigue, inviting viewers to contemplate their fluidity and subjectivity. He also employs visual metaphors, where images stand in for larger ideas or narratives. This allows him to convey complex themes or stories in a condensed and evocative manner.

“In all his works, the referents, whose meanings are culled from history, literature, and present social conditions, are made to exist in the same pictorial plane. Often, what they signify, coincide, collude, and blur. Roque’s inchoate marks and textures also draw attention to a palpable sense of space. Instead of a tabula rasa, one discerns faint and obscure stirrings between and amid more established significations. Roque’s works reveal indications of progressive politics yet veer from direct fervor and incitement of emotions. Without discarding the seriousness of the topic, Roque employs more oblique methods that prod at the surfaces and forms of the nation’s socio-historical and political issues“ (JC Rosette).

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