By Kwon Mee-yoo
Singer-turned-artist Kwon Ji-an, also known as Solbi, put her latest work up for auction.
Kwon's "Palette Garden" is open for online bidding till Friday at Seoul Auction's special online auction in collaboration with Jangheung Gana Atelier.
Kwon was selected to join the atelier earlier this year and took part in this special online auction with other resident artists at the atelier. Also known as the Gana Art Residence, the atelier is located in Gana Art Park in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, and is known for supporting artists to produce art in a good environment since 2006.
The auction is part of atelier's open studio program, in which resident artists have communicated with visitors every third Friday since May. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the open studio program was shifted to online auction.
At this auction, participating artists used skateboard decks as canvases. Kwon's "Palette Garden" portrays an artist's thoughts and agony behind the creative process, according to the artist's agency MAP Crew.
"She compared the thoughts to a garden, shown in this raw style palette. Kwon uses finger painting, which captures the artist's energy and passion, expressed in unique layers of colors," the agency said in a statement.
For a matching painting to go with the skateboard artwork, Kwon used a frame used for the late Dansaekhwa artist Yun Hyong-keun's works, portraying the track of time as it is.
Kwon debuted as main vocalist of K-pop group Typhoon in 2006 and released her first solo single in 2008. She started her artistic career in the early 2010s and presented the "Fantasy" and "Trace" series in 2015. She developed a unique style balancing her two different identities as an artist and a singer.
In 2019, Kwon was invited to the Nuit Blanche Paris, an art festival in France, and presented a performance painting in Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris in October.
Kwon is also interested in art education and hosted Play-learn TV's "Museum of Fine Arts of Roman Princess" in 2018 as well as participating in volunteer programs to teach art to children.
Kwon will hold a solo exhibition at Art Space Vila Vila Cola in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, starting Sept. 29. She is also active in the entertainment industry, appearing in web variety shows "Into the Wild" and "Song for Little Things."
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