Ha Sang-Rim’s paintings convey the artist’s intention to distill a rational and philosophical interpretation of nature and human beings through the medium of sensuous flora. The flowers bloom and leaves rustle against a brightly saturated background, their lines billowing and ready to burst with sweet fragrance. Believing that the life force begins percolating up from the lowliest of points, the artist attempts to lower herself in her love for small and insignificant creatures, and her willingness to warmly embrace those around her is evident in her work. The artist’s calm, contemplative approach is also evident in her use of color. In this work, the dual elements of lines and the background make up the painting, which, while pared down, nevertheless conveys a deep, rich sense of color with intense contrast. The color scheme is as elegant and vivid as the colors used in Hanbok, which inspired the artist early on. The artist captures the various lines created by nature, momentarily still in the breeze and the changing light, and by observing and sketching them through her eyes and the lens of a camera, sets them permanently within a rectangular frame as a painting.

Known for her flower paintings, Ha Sang-Rim’s art has gradually shifted from flowers that bloom and fade to the stalwart brambles along the roadside. This reflects her thinking that even good works of art may fail to convey its values and meaning if viewers do not engage with them enough, just as it is easy to overlook the grass that is found all around us. Through the works of Ha Sang-Rim, which celebrate the life force of nature sustaining fragile creatures while at the same time alluding to human life, we can understand the artist’s life, experiences, and interpretations indirectly. Ha became widely recognized for her collaboration with the DIOS line of products from LG Electronics from 2006 to 2013.

M.A., Painting, Academy of Media Arts Cologne Graduate School, Germany
B.A., Department of Western Painting, Hongik University College of Fine Arts