“The Earth Project” – Kejoo Park shines a Light on Nature

Meditative, contemplative, yet full of passion – these principles define “The Earth Project” by the Korean-American artist Kejoo Park. Starting on June 9th, this Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), consisting of a painting exhibition and a two-part installation, will be on display at the Kunstverein Montez.

With paintings and Land Art, Park invites reflection on nature. In front of the Kunstverein, she is constructing a semi-circular, nine-meter-long stone mound, which, along with an equally large water surface inside the exhibition hall, forms a symbolic circle representing unity. The project’s central theme is to experience oneself as part of nature. Despite our damaged and fragile Earth, Park sees it as the source of all energy.

“The Earth Project” marks new territory for Kejoo Park, an award-winning artist trained as a painter, architect, and landscape architect, with exhibitions in New York, Zurich and Munich. It is her first exhibition combining painting with Land Art, allowing her to draw on her collaboration with Peter Walker, the landscape architect co-responsible for the design of Ground Zero, with whom she worked in New York.

Meticulous Preparations

The preparations for “The Earth Project” have been elaborate. The stone ensemble, made from local light-colored stones, required meticulous planning. The convex installation features a slightly elevated stone mound with a radius of four and a half meters, with the edges level with the ground. Rising from the center of the mound, as a symbol of energy, is white steam. “When dusk falls and the steam rises, it will become a mystical place,” Park believes.

“Duality defines our world: nature and urbanity, interior and exterior, silence and bustle,” says Park. The semi-circular water surface inside the Kunstverein also symbolizes this duality, connecting with the stone mound outside to form a complete circle.

Inspired by Gustav Mahler's “The Song of the Earth,” Park has created large-scale paintings in mixed media on canvas, representing existential life experiences. The technique is captivating, involving multiple stages. Her photographs of natural moments serve as the base, combined with her drawings, digitally processed, and then printed on canvas. She then intervenes with acrylic paints and ink, adding a final touch that gives the paintings a silver shimmer, tying them visually to the white steam of the Earth installation.

“As a painter and landscape architect, I am excited to offer moments of stillness, reflection, and contemplation to the dynamic city of Frankfurt with ‘The Earth Project’,” says Kejoo Park.

A series of accompanying events further invite engagement with nature, including a “Silent March for the Earth” on June 26, in which students from the Anna-Schmidt School will carry white lanterns from Römer to Kunstverein Montez.