Artist bio

Arthur Kwon Lee is a Korean American painter best known for capturing art historical imagery through a combination of gestural mark making, expressive color harmonies and cultural mythologies across the globe. Lee has been awarded by George Washington University, the Overseas National Institute, the Korean Artist Association and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Lee's influences go across the board from his relationship to the Jung Society of Washington, social and financial investment into local religious organizations and a lifelong commitment in martial arts. Before this love of painting, Arthur Kwon was a Division One athlete placing in nationals under the USA Tae Kwon Do Federation for three consecutive years. The intensity Arthur experienced at this time of his life continues through his artwork, the scale and the diversity of dynamic brushstrokes he produces tells the story of a man who needs to use his entire body when painting. Lee's paintings are symbolically evocative whilst making oblique references to the archetypal mythos. The luminous colors, gestural expressionism and philosophical content has made his artwork a sentimentally refreshing representation of the times. Lee currently works in New York City and is working on an exciting series of large works based on biblical stories to be exhibited in Chelsea, NY.

Title

A Million Masks of God

Medium/Genre

Painting

Artist Statement

This painting animate archetypal imagery from our collective unconscious through the lens of historical symbolism and mythologies. The work is a combination of philosophical research, martial arts and personal religious experiences. By rendering significant cultural figures under a maelstrom of intense color harmonies both a subjective and objective conversation is created. This, with the diversity of mark making and pixelated rendering technique is where the language is made.

How it fits into contest

My father is the head pastor at Washington Manna Church in Oakton, VA. Most of my paintings are Christian Apologetics through the lends of reverent cultural figures around the globe, they explore the archetypal language nested in the Bible - and this painting pertains to Ephesians 6:10-20. We have both Christ and Medusa beaded at the center of the composition as the line of Good and Evil goes straight down the human heart rather than in outside world. Then Romulus and Remes in the back attached to the material world in a paradisiacal background near the Sword of Damocles. The painting is full of Christian symbolizes amidst an apocalyptic aesthetic.

Credits

Just God and I.

How to Purchase this Artwork

Both the original and silk screens are available.

Other Goods & Services Available from this Artist

I am also an art educator teaching a variety of art courses along with being a practicing artist.

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