Biography

Younhee Paik was educated first in South Korea, and later in San Francisco where she received her M.F.A. and resided as an active artist for over thirty years while continually revisiting her homeland. For the past twelve years she has held a studio and exhibited in New York, San Francisco, and Seoul. She is a passionate, expressive painter whose feelings assume a masterful presence in large, dynamic paintings.

The Asian attributes of Paik’s work are reflected by subject and method as her pieces are about transformation and transition between the material and spiritual worlds. Her choice of symbols represents both the work of nature and man: water and bridges, forests and ships, stars and ladders. Her sky paintings are filled with motifs which have both universal meaning and human reasoning. Her metaphors can be extended to her most recent development on large, unframed canvas and aluminum plates. Most important of these metaphors are the lights she uses in various ways. Light here signifies the beyond—spiritual beyond—light of heaven.

Paik’s strength as an artist is that she continues to paint her wonder, throwing aside a certain regard for life as it is.

Education

M.F.A, San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco, California

B.F.A, Seoul National University Seoul, South Korea