A 30-year media artist transforms: “I wanted to awaken tradition through painting”

Renowned South Korean media artist Park Chan-kyong has returned to his roots with a solo exhibition of paintings titled "Zen Master Eyeball" at Kukje Gallery. The show features over 20 satirical works that reinterpret Buddhist myths, shamanic traditions, and folk beliefs through a lens of "Zen Buddhist Grotesque Science Fiction." By utilizing traditional temple wall painting techniques and architectural layouts, Park explores themes of enlightenment, self-punishment, and the futility of contemporary visual consumption.

This transition marks a significant pivot for Park, who is widely recognized for his high-profile media art and film collaborations with his brother, director Park Chan-wook. By embracing painting—a medium he studied but largely set aside for photography and video—Park challenges the rigid, Westernized definitions of modernity and tradition in the Korean art scene. The exhibition underscores a growing trend of established contemporary artists returning to tactile, traditional mediums to critique the digital obsession of modern society.