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About the artwork
In Healing Blossoms, Ran Hwang explores the motif of blossoms, a commonly visited subject in her oeuvre. Cherry blossoms symbolise the transience of life in their short but illustrious blooming season, a metaphor for the process of life and death we are all subjected to. This link to Zen Buddhism is significant for Hwang, as meditation plays a central role in her manual process of construction. She crafts paper buttons, attaches them to pins and then hammers each pin individually into the wood base, an operation that is repetitive and yet requires utmost concentration and discipline. The fragile nature of the buttons and the absence of an adhesive to bind them to the wood also represent the essence of human tendency and provide an insight into the self. Much like Hwang’s choice of medium, we are free to make choices, yet remain delicate and prone to destructivity.
About the artist
Ran Hwang is a contemporary New York based, South Korean artist known for her intricate and visually stunning installations. Born in 1960 in South Korea, Ran Hwang graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and subsequently went on to attain her Masters Degree in Fine Arts at the Graduate School of Arts Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea.
Ran Hwang creates iconic artworks that embody her in-depth contemplation with the nature of cyclical life, non-visibility and the beauty of transient glamor. Her earlier career in the fashion industry and the personal memories of 9/11 attack have led her to adopt everyday materials into the delicate and dramatic works. Her installations, often created with thousands of pins, buttons, and
beads, evoke a sense of meditative tranquility and intricate beauty.
She has won Gold Prize by AHL Foundation NY in 2004 and Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2015. Her works are internationally acclaimed in galleries and museums around the world.
