Visit the Studio with ChaeWon Moon

As artist ChaeWon Moon depicts our world in her vibrant images, she sees the absurdity, humor, and ironic failure of the man-made instructions we follow. Each of her pieces categorizes the world, often with bright color, crisp imagery, and deft humor, perplexing and delighting the viewer.

Sadly Art in Res will be losing ChaeWon Moon as one of our artists come September as she heads back to Korea. In these tough times, we have been seeing many of our extremely talented international artists facing US Visa issues and are forced to leave. If you are interested in following the careers of our international artists, we strongly encourage you to reach out and connect with them directly. We will be sad to see ChaeWon Moon leave, but she is always welcome as part of the Art in Res family. So scroll onward and enjoy our time with ChaeWon in the final days of her US studio.

What materials do you use? And why?

I use acrylic, silkscreen, spray paint, and various methods that attract me. Collage, laser-cut plexiglass, and paper transfer often become part of the pieces as well. I typically work on wood panel, stretched canvas, vinyl, paper, or even ceramic tile, which has a sturdy and flat surface as my base material – these harder surfaces are better for the printing method. I borrow the color palette and surface textures from the halftones of printed manuals and the vivid hue of road signs. This process of discovery and the act of archiving these visual source materials is what drives my practice. Having this almanac of the source material is the rigid groundwork that allows me to expand and new methods, which is a very exciting part of my creative practice.

What is your artwork about? What does it speak to?

My work depicts the failed attempts of understanding the ‘rules of order’ within a society –– rules that we are confronted with on a daily basis that we, more often than not, have flawed answers in response. When absurd and ironic circumstances happen, we look to rigid systems such as social and cultural beliefs or commonsense for explanations and solutions. Often, these systems suggest logical and effective answers, but sometimes they struggle to appreciate the complexities of unique situations and what is left is confusion and frustration. Within my work, I attempt to interpret those ambiguities left from unclear conclusions and misunderstandings by using pseudo-manual images. My work twists the logic of what a manual is; a device meant for clearly and efficiently defining terms, usage, and/or definitions. Imaging these enigmatic instructions as a visual tool, I explore the playful combinations of illegibility, familiarity, and humor.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Experiencing transitions of my environment. Whenever I move to another city or change jobs, I encounter new rules, new societal systems. While they are jarring at first and mistakes are made, these new rules eventually become part of my daily experience. No matter how prepared I think I may be for the change, absorbing the heterogeneous system leads to complications and learning –– it is through these complications and learning processes that I build my own visual manual of experience.

What is your typical routine when you get to the studio? Walk us through a typical studio day.

When I get to the studio I typically make a coffee, no matter what time is, and take some time to relax and adjust to my environment. Looking around my studio, I see the scattered scraps and unfinished work I left from my last studio visit and I plan the amount of work I want to finish during that studio session. When I feel settled, I paint, make some collages, think about the arrangement of components within the works, write short notes about the subjects I work on, and sometimes just look at the ongoing paintings for a while. Before I leave, I make a brief plan for the next day; it could be making digital drawings, buying materials that I want to experiment with, or researching intriguing images.

Do you work at a particular size or scale? Why?

The scale of each of my pieces is intentional and each one reflects the scale of printed directives and manuals found throughout society –– a booklet, a poster, a road sign, or even a map. Most of the pieces are no bigger than 12’’x12’’. This scale is intimate and is meant to reflect the relationship we have with printed manuals. I often arrange or layer some work together like assembling a puzzle. Unlike the diptych or triptych, I will work on individual pieces first and find chemistry among the juxtaposed displays.

What are you currently working on? Share with us what is exciting to you about this most recent work.

I recently started to create some cross-stitch pieces, which is a very new process for me. The embroidery work is based on a digital sketch I create, which is exactly like my painting process but requires a way slower pace. The series features pixel-like images that remind of early computer graphics. Also, I’m working on a couple of large paintings; like I discussed, most of my previous canvas works are small scale with minimal components, so I’m excited to play with new textures and compositions.

Which artists most inspire you and your work?

Sigmar Polke, John Baldessari, Peles Empire, and David Altmejd inspires me and my work. I admire their constant experiments that play with the gap between legibility and obscurity.

Do you balance another job in addition to being an artist?

Yes, it always feels like I am juggling multiple balls. I’ve been hopping from one job to another just to support myself and my studio practice–– mostly part-time jobs with flexible schedules. I usually spend the time before or after work in my studio, even if it’s just a couple of hours. Balancing two parts of my life is a constant reminder of how precious and crucial studio time is to me.

Do you have any current or upcoming exhibits? Please share!

I’m currently in a group exhibition “Vitamin K”, which is a virtual exhibition of the Artist Fellowship Grant from AHL Foundation. The exhibition will be held through the end of August via the AHL Foundation website. Besides shows, I will be a participant of the Glogau Artist in Residency Program in Berlin this fall.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this special peek into ChaeWon's creative environment! Even in a virtual age, we encourage all budding collectors to take the time to connect with the artists you love directly.

We want to remind you of our awesome artist messaging feature directly on the Art in Res site––reach out now and foster that creative energy! Have more questions for ChaeWon on her art and practice? Follow up with her directly via our messenger. We know she’ll be thrilled to answer any questions you might have. Ask about a specific painting or about her specific process in general––either approach works!