Aira Choi
Where do humans come from and where do they go? What kind of answer can an artist provide to a difficult question that everyone has thought about at least once? I endlessly question this question and draw my paradise untethered by time, space, and life. In the picture, a small woman silently continues her journey toward paradise. He walks through steep rocky mountains and endless deserts, crosses deep rivers and oceans, and moves forward bravely even in moments of hardship. He sometimes rides on a leopard's back and sits on a plant to admire Mother Nature, sometimes admires flowers in the meadow, or lies down on the cool beach and enjoys sweet rest. The ultimate destination he reached was an ‘oasis’ with flowers in full bloom and equatorial plants stretching across the vast plateau. Sacred animals roam there, including white leopards with golden eyes and heart-shaped red noses that welcome travelers. Leopard cubs spend the afternoon learning to swim and climbing trees in the oasis. The black leopard appears as the lover and friend of the white leopard. They are the only wild beasts and loving guardians of paradise. The change of the leopard's nose into a lovely heart shape symbolizes that the leopard has become lovable because it does not have to fight, and expresses a utopian worldview where eternal happiness and love exist. The lemon tree with its large fruit symbolizing abundance serves as a playground and resting place for everyone. Most of the plants were in full bloom, which represents the shape of plants that have reached their peak in a flawless utopia. In this paradise of abundance, Mother Nature is an object of reverence and respect, and is closely connected and harmonious with humans.
Whale sharks circling around a small island symbolize an invisible order. Curious pandas represent children, and giant swimming flamingos represent crowds. Insects such as ladybugs and butterflies are guides that help travelers avoid getting lost, while chameleons are observers who sit high and watch the world. This natural oasis landscape, devoid of artificial objects, is a microcosm of the world I see. The material characteristic of only natural objects was influenced by the secret garden my father created when I was young. As we walked along the path, we opened the large leaves, crossed the log bridge next to the spring, and there was our garden. I spent time raising animals, observing plants, breathing in the earth, and looking at the sky. When I got older, I sketched nature at a house on a lakeside hill with a big moon and stars. My childhood was the most perfect moment of love in the trajectory of my life, and this memory acts organically as an escape between ideal and reality.
The expressive feature of the work is that it uses a method of dipping oil paints on a knife and layering them thinly. Having majored in metal sculpture, I refine metal knives to blend paints and delicately add highly saturated paints. With excitement towards the new world unfolding on the canvas, I repeat layer after layer and dry again. This long journey guides me into a world of endless immersion and imagination, as if walking an endless road and climbing a rocky mountain to reach paradise. Everyone has their own paradise in their heart. In my paradise, lovely white leopards play together with mysterious flora and fauna under the moonlight. What about you? I hope that when I see you reflected in my oasis, there will be a small ripple in the hidden paradise of secrets. It was as if I had stumbled across a treasure map on my shaky journey of life.
[Excerpt from the Korea Gallery Association]
CV
Education
2014 Graduated from Hongik University, Department of Metal Sculpture Design, Master’s degree
2010 Graduated from Hongik University, Department of Metal Sculpture Design
Solo Exhibition
2023 ‘In Search of an Oasis’, Melting Pot Gallery, Seoul
2023 ‘Sweet Paradise’, Galleria Trier, Gwangju
2023 ‘Blooming Oasis’, Gallery Afternoon, Seoul
2022 ‘Journey to Paradise’, Bon Gallery, Seoul 2021 ‘PARADISE’, Gallery La Mer, Seoul
2021 ‘Paradise Travel’, Hyundai Department Store D Cube City, Seoul
2021 ‘Shangri-La’, Atom Gallery, Seoul 2020 ‘Become a Traveler of Shambhala’, YTN Gallery, Seoul
2019 ‘Aira’s Room in Maru’, Maru Art Center, Seoul 2019 ‘Traveler of Shambhala’, Insa Art Center, Seoul 2016 ‘Polaris Loves the Full Moon’, Palais de Seoul, Seoul
2013 ‘AIRA WORLD’, Gallery WHO, Seoul Art Fair
2023 Urban Break, Seoul 2022 Art in the Bay, The Bay 101, Busan
2022 Blue Art Fair, Signiel Hotel, Busan 2022 Urban Break, Bon Gallery, COEX, Seoul
2022 Art Busan, Bon Gallery, BEXCO, Busan 2022 Gallery Art Festival, Bon Gallery, Setec, Seoul
2021 Ulsan Art Fair, Queens Art Gallery, Ueco, Ulsan
2021 Daegu Art Fair, Bon Gallery, EXCO, Daegu 2021 Art Kaohsiung, Gallery Hana, City Suites Hotel, Kaohsiung
2021 Shanghai AART, Gallery Hana, Hualux Hotel, Shanghai 2021 Busan International Hotel Art Fair, Grand Chosun Hotel, Queens Art Gallery, Busan
2021 Plastic Art Fair, Art G&G, COEX, Seoul
2021 Busan International Gallery Art Fair, Art G&G, BEXCO, Busan
2020 Daegu Art Fair, Art G&G, EXCO, Daegu 2020 Asia Hotel Art Fair, Art G&G, Nine Tree Hotel, Seoul
2020 Blue Art Fair, Art G&G, Heico, Gyeongju
2019 Art Kaohsiung, Art G&G, City Suite Hotel, Kaohsiung
2018 Gallery Art Festival, Bon Gallery, COEX, Seoul
2017 Asia Hotel Art Fair, Bon Gallery, InterContinental Hotel, Seoul
2017 Seoul Modern Art Show, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul 2017 Hong Kong Harbor Art Fair, Bon Gallery, Marco Polo Hotel, Hong Kong
Recognition
Artwork Shinhan Card Design Collaboration (2023)
KBS2 Art Program No Money No Art Winner (2023)
Gana Atelier Open Studio Art Class (2023)
Shinsegae International Art Village Special Exhibition (2022)
Dramas Penthouse (2021), The Good Wife (2016), My Lovely Girl (2014)
Bang & Olufsen speaker cover collaboration
Tegrino Co., Ltd. advertisement shooting
GS SHOP (2019), VIVLAS Cosmetic (2018) Magazine First Look, Vogue, Dazed
