Break News Reporter No Bo-rim = There is a saying that a work resembles its author. In a way, the creator’s thoughts and work environment cannot help but be reflected in the work. Therefore, before looking at the work, if you look at the author first, you can understand the work better. Accordingly, Break News plans to conduct relay interviews with domestic writers to listen to their stories as well as their works and lives.
-Where do you usually get inspiration when drawing your work?
I am mainly inspired by physical sensations and inner flow experienced through personal yoga practice. The various asanas experienced with the body during the process of practice, and the diary in which the experiences are recorded, become important starting points for the work. During yoga practice, you will repeatedly hear cues such as “Breathe” and “Stand firmly on your feet.” These cueings are basic senses that support our lives without us being conscious of them, and they are overly familiar. However, if you repeatedly sense these familiar things, they begin to be recognized again, and just before you reach complete stability, they become unfamiliar.
-Please introduce 1-2 pieces of your work directly to our readers.
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▲ Woman dreaming of a garden, 162x112cm, Oil on canvas, 2025. Kwon Hyosun © Break News
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I wanted to say that the ‘garden’ is not a destination, but a ‘quiet house’ that appears only briefly in the orbit of care and imagination. So, I wanted to leave the house in a state of endless direction, not completion. Just as it circulates along the orbit of a circle, the garden is not a place, but rather a sense that is formed only in continuation. In the end, the act of trimming a garden is close to the act of carefully cultivating a world in which one can reside and not letting go of one’s dreams. The shape of the tree placed side by side with the standing woman in the picture is placed in a stable composition, but the strong brushstrokes, overflowing colors, and rhythm that shake the shape bring tension to the picture. This appears as if a layer of unresolved sensations returns to the surface.
▲ , 100x65cm, Oil on canvas, 2026. Kwon Hyosun © Break News
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I trust the experience I felt with my body the most. The moment I came closest to the sense of ‘rooting’ was practicing yoga, and the process of transferring those physical experiences onto canvas is also my work. The work ‘Grounding‘ pushes back the attitude of identifying something as ‘mine’, and rather visualizes the act of intentionally feeling the floor. The moment when the body connects to the ground and regains its center, that is, experiencing grounding, is an important aesthetic experience for me. That moment feels like a time when I pass over the deep feelings of darkness and quietly embrace my former self as an expanded version of myself.
-Why did you choose life as a writer?
I want to capture and hold on to the moment when a special sense opens. For example, when you hear a certain word or song, there is a moment when the nostalgia in your memory as if you had smelled it before suddenly comes back to you. More than anything, I love discovering and sensing synesthetic moments where senses and memories overlap at the same time. As we live, we encounter emotions and states that we want to know clearly but cannot be reached in words. Then, in a very fleeting moment, I experience the pleasure of combining sensory puzzles that could not be solved with words at once with just one minor stimulus. I wanted to capture that moment not through sound, text, or moving video, but on a static white canvas. When the sensed atmosphere is pushed in at once with attractive colors and brush strokes at a specific tempo, and the process of spreading, flowing, and re-burying is repeated, a single shape is finally revealed. The shape passes before my eyes, but I feel that it contains a void like a breath that stays the longest. The process of discovering these moments brought me back to the painting over and over again.
-What was the most difficult moment while working as a writer?
As a writer, it feels most difficult when the gap between the dream you have and the realistic situation suddenly becomes large. As the gap grew, the weight of the negative emotions that always existed became clearer, and the act of drawing and creating became more cautious. In the end, I ended up standing still without doing anything. Since I was a child, I have always had brushes and paints close by, so at such moments, I feel a sense of fear, as if the house I have stayed in for a long time is disappearing. That fear soon turns into impatience, and you fall into a strange swamp of constantly trying to find the right answer in a world of art where no right answer exists.
-Conversely, what was your happiest moment?
It’s time to confirm for yourself that you can’t put down your brush. The process of secretly building a work world filled with my own romance and emotion and the time I get to hold a brush bring me so much happiness that it makes my heart tremble. It is also a source of strength that allows me to continue working silently and at my own pace.
-Future exhibition plans
Exhibition activities are like the process of building the framework one by one for the world of work that I have vaguely dreamed of for a long time. One day, I want to put a roof on top of the frame, close the door, and complete a house that contains my entire work world. I have a habit of consistently taking notes for my work. Before I knew it, the accumulated memos had reached hundreds, and they already contained several exhibition titles and plans for my next work. Although it is still in a raw state, there is a clear sense that the next exhibition wants to go in this direction. In the future, I plan to continue participating in various contests to expand my exhibition experience and to shape my own work world through consistent exhibition experience.
*Below is the English article translated with ‘Google Translate’ [전문]no see. ‘Google Translate’ is working to increase understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.
[Interview] Artist Kwon Hyo-seon Captures Fleeting Moments Where Senses and Memories Intersect on Canvas
Break News, Noh Bo-rim = It’s said that a work of art resembles its artist. In a way, the artist’s thoughts and working environment are inevitably reflected in the work. Therefore, by first examining the artist before examining the work, we can better understand the work. Therefore, Break News will conduct a series of interviews with Korean artists, exploring their work and their life stories.
– Where do you primarily draw inspiration for your work?
I draw inspiration primarily from the physical sensations and inner flow experienced through personal yoga practice. The various asanas I experience during my practice, and the journals I keep documenting those experiences, serve as important starting points for my work. During yoga practice, I hear repetitive cues like “Breathe” and “Stand firm with your feet.” These cues are fundamental sensations that sustain our lives without us even realizing it, and they are so familiar to me. However, when we repeatedly sense these familiar things, they begin to be recognized again, and just before reaching complete stability, they begin to feel unfamiliar.
– Please introduce one or two of your works to our readers.
Attached photos
Woman Dreaming of a Garden, 162 x 112 cm, Oil on canvas, 2025
I wanted to convey that a “garden” is not a destination, but a “quiet home” that appears only briefly within the orbit of care and imagination. Therefore, I wanted to leave this home not as a final destination, but as a state of endless aspiration. Like a circular path, a garden is not a place, but a sensation formed only through continuity. Ultimately, the act of gardening is closer to carefully cultivating a world in which one can dwell, holding onto one’s dreams. The tree, juxtaposed with the standing woman in the painting, is positioned within a stable composition, but the strong brushstrokes, overflowing colors, and rhythmic movement of the forms create tension within the canvas. This appears as a scene where unsettled layers of sensation return to the surface.
Attached photo
I most trust the experiences I’ve felt through my body. The moment I felt closest to the sense of “rooting” was during yoga practice, and the process of translating those physical experiences onto canvas is my work. “Grounding” visualizes the act of intentionally sensing the ground, pushing aside the attempt to identify something as “mine,” instead. The moment of grounding—the body connecting with the earth and regaining its center—remains a significant aesthetic experience for me. It feels like a moment of transcending deeply entrenched emotions, a time when a more expanded version of myself quietly embraces my former self.
-Why did you choose a life as an artist?
I want to capture and hold onto moments when a special sense is awakened. For example, when I hear a specific word or song, a nostalgic memory, as if I’d smelled something from before, suddenly resurfaces. More than anything, I love discovering and experiencing these synesthetic moments, where sensations and memories overlap. We live our lives encountering emotions and states we long to understand but ultimately cannot put into words. Then, in a fleeting moment, a small stimulus can trigger a sudden, exhilarating fit, as if a puzzle of senses previously insoluble in words were suddenly brought together. I wanted to capture that moment, not in sound, text, or moving images, but on a still, white canvas. By instantly imbuing the sensed atmosphere with a captivating color and a specific tempo of brushstrokes, and then repeating the process of spreading, flowing, and then re-embedding, a single shape finally emerges. That shape, though fleeting, feels like it holds a void, like a breath that lingers for the longest time. The process of discovering these moments has continually brought me back to painting.
-What has been the most challenging moment in your career as an artist?
The most challenging moment is when the gap between my dreams as an artist and the reality suddenly becomes magnified. As that gap widens, the weight of my already existing negative emotions becomes clearer, and the very act of painting and creating becomes more cautious. Ultimately, I find myself standing still, unable to do anything. Having grown up with brushes and paints close at hand since childhood, such moments are accompanied by a fear, as if the home I’ve long lived in is disappearing. That fear soon turns into impatience, and I find myself trapped in a strange swamp, constantly trying to find the right answer in the world of art, where there are no right answers.
– On the other hand, what was your happiest moment?
It’s when I finally realize I can hold the brush. The process of secretly building a worldview filled with my own romanticism and sensibility, and the moments I can hold the brush, are such a joy that my heart races. It’s also the source of strength that allows me to continue working quietly, at my own pace.
– Future Exhibition Plans
Exhibitions are like building the framework, piece by piece, for a world of art I’ve dimly dreamed of for a long time. Someday, I hope to put a roof over that framework, close the doors, and complete a house that embodies my artistic world. I have a habit of consistently taking notes for my work. The notes I’ve accumulated have now reached hundreds, and they already contain various exhibition titles and ideas for future projects. While still largely undrafted, I have a firm sense of where I want my next exhibition to go. Going forward, I plan to continue participating in various competitions, broadening my exhibition experience, and through consistent exhibition experience, I will continue to refine my own artistic world.
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