Yoona Hur, New Work

Yoona Hur presents a new body of work that interprets the historic texts, symbols, and sensorial experiences of Korean Buddhist temples. “Having taken inspiration from moon jars and Dansaekwha paintings before, it was natural for me to orient myself towards Buddhism,” says Hur. “These elements all embody emptiness and a philosophy of clearing one’s mind to cultivate oneness.”

Hur’s Temple series of paintings, composed in diptychs and triptychs, are intended as abstractions of monumental sculptures and Buddhist temples, which are often decorated in gold leaf, symbolic of enlightenment. “I hope the awareness of light bouncing off the surface grounds us in the reality of the moment,” she says. Her Scripture series are inspired by the artifacts of ancient Buddhist texts, while her ceramic vessel titled Yeonwha (the Korean word for ‘lotus flower’) draws on this key Buddhist symbol by imagining the space below the surface of the water, where the roots and seeds of the flower grow. “I see that space as a symbol of one’s spiritual interiority,” says Hur. “By seeking these motifs and forms in the Buddhist tradition, I hope my work can guide us to slow down and open up.”