Meet Chunbum Park: Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chunbum Park and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chunbum, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk can be an opportunity for success, but I am wary of taking too much risks.

In the act of painting, I always have to consider whether to push onward with the changes or just stop because there is always the risk that I will be ruining my work. Taking risks in moderation helped me to grow as a painter and push the limits of what is possible for me in painting. Every touch that I put down on the canvas can completely change the image. Every color that I put down can change the relationship of colors on the canvas. I just need to be certain of my vision and make sure that I recognize whether what I already have is good or not, whether it works in terms of color, form, and meaning.

Greed can distort the situation and make me take too much risks that I can’t handle. Greed is when I have too many things that I want to achieve at the same time. The truth is that I can only fix one thing at a time and push the painting forward step by step. I have had many instances in which I ruined a painting because greed pushed me to fall off my limit, like a cliff.

Uncontrolled greed can lead to frequent failures, frustration, and anger. Restraint and modesty play a role in containing my greed and its negative outcomes. Balance and moderation are key to this equation.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
People say that they can instantly recognize my art due to its original vision and artistic voice. They say that my art is me. This is a sentiment that is invaluable for an artist to know or hear. It means that the artist is doing his or her job to create something original and authentic. I think a key to pursuing an original voice is to be honest with oneself. I don’t try to deceive others or even myself because there is no point in creating a work of fraudulent imitation or pretension. I want my art to be true to my intentions.

I was able to get to where I am today because of my mom and dad’s support in helping me pursue an education in the arts, as well as the numerous mentors and professors who showed me the way. The process was not easy because there were immense setbacks, and I had to take a break from school in order to recover. I was able to persevere and overcome the challenges only with the help of my family and my friends, who always had my back and believed in me as an artist.

I think a lesson that can be learned is the importance of second chance. When a door closes, another door opens. Even when I made mistakes or failed, I was offered a second chance and a way forward to pursue a career that was meaningful to me. It was my parents who gave me this second chance to become an artist after I realized that studying History was not a good fit for me. It was School of Visual Arts (SVA) that gave me this second chance, even when I got rejected from other schools in my attempt to re-apply to art schools after taking a break from my studies.

I want the world to know that I am a good person, and my art is a reflection of my good nature. That’s the most important thing. I needed time to heal from the difficult challenges that I faced in my personal life, whether it was academic mediocrity, addiction to computer games, social ineptitude and loneliness, racism, or a loss of identity. I may have been very angry at times but those were for good reasons. I hope to meet my other friends who stopped talking to me for reasons unknown. As long as I can connect with another person through my art and personal relationship, my life is meaningful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would go through all the museums and galleries in New York, including the Guggenheim, the New Museum, MoMA PS1, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, PPOW Gallery, and Unix Gallery. We would have a nice Korean vegan lunch at Hangawi and a Thai dinner at Rin Thai. We would go around taking photos with my silver Nikon camera in Washington Square Park, and then we would spend the rest of the evening playing board games and card games at the Uncommons. That would be fun to do every day! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mother is my greatest source of support, love, and wisdom. She sacrificed her career as a doctor in South Korea and helped me and my brother receive the best education in America that she could afford. She was highly successful in South Korea and had power and connections, which are the things that she lost when she came to America. In America, she became a nobody and just a stay-at-home mother taking care of me and my brother, making sure that we don’t play too much video games. She underwent many difficulties dealing with me and my brother during our troublesome teenage years. It was her absolutely immense unconditional love for us that helped us prevail over our personal difficulties dealing with racism and a sense of identity while living in America. So thank you mom! You are the best mom! I love you so much!

Website: https://foundwork.art/artists/chunbumpark

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chun.park.7/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chunbum-park-27a01447/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chunbum

Other: https://www.emergingartistscollective.com/

Image Credits
Images taken by my mother and myself