Artist Statement
I am a Korean-born, New York-based oil painter. My works, through my characters, explore the weird nature of the world, where we are disconnected within our own communities. I investigate what it means to be an outsider in both my own and chosen cultures. Beyond cultural hardships, life itself is inherently strange, lacking innate meaning or predetermined purpose. This eerie discomfort is further evoked through a wide array of colors and mysterious narratives. By depicting my overly cute and adorable characters as suffering or being violent, I accentuate the sense of uncanniness, paradoxically intensifying the seriousness of my narratives.
My round-faced, nose-less characters reflect both my sense of displacement and my cultural heritage. Their blank faces and weird eyes echo norms where direct eye contact and overt emotional expression are considered impolite, a contrast to environments where eye contact is expected. I combine this alienation with my admiration for Buddha sculptures with idealized body forms that are believable, yet anatomically incorrect—qualities I aim to capture in my work.
Bio
Yooyeon Nam is a Korean-born, New York-based oil painter. Growing up in South Korea, she received a rigorous academic education, earned a business degree from Yonsei University, and worked in an office before ultimately pursuing her passion for becoming an artist. She decided to move to New York and study at an art school. She earned her BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute with the highest honors in 2023. Nam had solo exhibitions like “No Home in Wonderland” at A Space gallery, "Perfect Kidnapping" with ChaShaMa, and "Kidnapped" with Artists Living Room, all in NYC. She participated in group shows in NYC, including “Desire- Body Without Organs” at A Space gallery, “Oasis of Color” at Van Der Plas gallery, and fairs like “Artexpo New York” with AGI Fine Art, “ASYAAF(Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival)” in Seoul. She won the first grand prize at the Arthouse.Z Art Prize, which included a $1,000 cash prize, and was also awarded the first prize in the virtual group show “Mythologies” by Goddessart Magazine, securing a virtual solo exhibition. In 2024, she participated in artist residencies at School of Visual Arts, ChaNorth, and Woodstock Byrdcliffe. She recently got an O1 visa, an artist visa.