Emerging into a New World, Small Figures Explore Seonna Hong’s Dreamlike Landscapes

Two very small women walk along a landscape at the bottom left of the painting, with voluptuous orange and blue in the backdrop

“Atmospheric River” (2023), mixed media on canvas, 30 x 24 inches. All images © Seonna Hong, courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission

Connection and interaction are at the heart of Seonna Hong’s latest body of work, which positions minimally rendered figures amid abstract landscapes. Through patchy brushstrokes of acrylic and oil pastel, the Los Angeles-based artist contrasts the opaque colors of the subjects’ limbs or garments with the rough, mottled environments they occupy. Generally diminutive in comparison to their surroundings, the figures remain anonymous and adventurous, exploring ethereal expanses. Voluptuous fields of orange, large stones in pinks and reds, and mountains of haphazard markings appear like distant figments of a dream.

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The works shown here are on view this week as part of Murmurations, Hong’s latest solo show at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York. Comprised of vibrant paintings and drawings in grainy colored pencil, the exhibition reflects the experience of re-emerging into public space following the pandemic. Firmly in discovery mode, the figures traverse the unearthly landscapes and tempestuous weather events and convene with each other as they form new bonds between humanity and nature.

Murmurations is on view through July 1. Find more from Hong on her site and Instagram.

 

A dyptich of three women resting in a mountainous landscape on the left, while a blurry woman with a blue silhouette appers in the foreground on the right

“People Person” (2023), acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, diptych, 48 x 72 inches

Pink stones nestle into green foliage in a landscape

“Quiet Day” (2023), mixed media on drywall, 23 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches

Two works, on the left, a woman sits on a ledge surrounded by foliage and a stop sign. On the right, three women traverse a rocky landscape rendered in greens, blues, pinks, and reds

Left: “Memory Catalog” (2023), acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, 60 x 48 inches. Right: “Murmurations” (2023), acrylic and oil pastel on canvas, 60 x 48 inches

Several figures climb atop pink, red, green, and blue rocks

“Super Position” (2023), mixed media on wood, 8 1/2 x 11 inches

Two women sit talking on a pink and green rock

“Do You Believe In People” (2023), mixed media on wood, 8 1/2 x 11 inches

Scratchy markings in purple swell up int he backdrop with four people in the foreground

“Warm Storm” (2023), acrylic and oil pastel on wood, 10 x 8 inches

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Source: thisiscolossal.com

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