Contemporary Korean artist Hyejeong will participate in Seoul Art Salon 2026, presenting a collection of watercolor paintings that explore memory, solitude, travel, and the emotional landscapes of everyday life. The exhibition will be held from June 26 to June 28, 2026, at The Shilla Seoul, one of Korea’s premier venues for international art fairs.
 [The Korean Today] Contemporary Artist Hyejeong Welcomes Visitors with New Works Depicting the Seoul Cityscape and the Journey of Life © Hyunsoo Kim, Staff Reporter |
Visitors can find Hyejeong’s works at HANABI ART, Booth 1119, where a selection of recent paintings will offer an intimate dialogue between personal experience and universal emotion.
Rather than depicting landscapes as simple visual records, Hyejeong transforms familiar places into emotional spaces. Her paintings invite viewers to pause, reflect, and discover the quiet narratives hidden within ordinary moments. Working primarily in watercolor, she creates delicate layers of transparency that evoke memory, absence, and the passage of time.
Among the featured works is Lonely City – Seoul, inspired by the artist’s view of Seoul from a hillside overlooking the city. The painting captures densely packed buildings beneath Namsan Mountain, presenting Seoul as both vibrant and quietly solitary. While countless lives unfold behind every window, the city viewed from a distance appears almost abstract, suggesting both connection and isolation.
Namsan Tower serves as both a recognizable landmark and a symbolic presence within the composition. Standing above the city, it reflects not only Seoul’s identity but also the quiet solitude that often accompanies modern urban life. Through this work, Hyejeong encourages viewers to reconsider the emotional landscape hidden beneath familiar cityscapes.
Another significant painting, Rest – Camino de Santiago, was inspired by the pilgrimage route across northern Spain. Instead of portraying travelers themselves, the composition focuses on backpacks and walking sticks resting against an old stone wall. Their owners are absent, yet their presence is deeply felt.
The painting explores the idea that human existence can sometimes be expressed more powerfully through what is left behind. The resting equipment becomes a silent portrait of endurance, faith, and the physical and emotional journey of pilgrimage. The contrast between rough stone textures and gentle watercolor washes creates an atmosphere of peace and contemplation.
 [The Korean Today] Artist Hyejeong Joins Seoul Art Salon 2026, Showcasing Works of Emotion and Reflection at The Shilla Seoul© Kim Hyun-soo, Staff Reporter |
Literature also plays an important role in Hyejeong’s artistic practice. Her watercolor The Boy Comes draws inspiration from Han Kang’s acclaimed novel. Rather than illustrating the story directly, the artist represents its emotional resonance through a vase filled with delicate white daisies. Each flower symbolizes an individual voice, while together they form a quiet expression of remembrance, hope, and resilience.
Hyejeong’s work is characterized by restraint rather than dramatic narrative. Empty spaces, soft color transitions, and subtle details allow viewers to bring their own memories and emotions into each painting. Her practice consistently explores the traces people leave behind, whether in cities, landscapes, books, or journeys.
Since her exhibition at Van Der Plas Gallery in Manhattan, New York, in 2021, Hyejeong has continued to participate in exhibitions both in Korea and internationally. Her works have been presented in Europe and across Asia, gradually establishing an artistic language that combines Korean sensibility with universal themes of memory and human experience.
Her participation in Hyejeong Seoul Art Salon 2026 marks another important chapter in her artistic journey. The exhibition offers audiences an opportunity to encounter paintings that are quiet yet emotionally resonant, inviting reflection on the landscapes we inhabit and the memories we carry.
Exhibition Information
Exhibition: Seoul Art Salon 2026
Dates: June 26–28, 2026
Venue: The Shilla Seoul, 11F–12F
Booth: HANABI ART | Booth 1119
Leave a Reply