Jeong-Ah Zhang

Biography

My life and art are based on my own philosophical thoughts and experiences. I am interested in the philosophy of immanence and transcendence on all beings, And this means that I try to focus on the essence of life by establishing core values, and at the same time, sublimate it into my works.

I think there is a series of sort of underlying, other sort of visual realities that have come into play in the modern world. In generally, the objects of awareness are split between the intelligible world and the visible world. There may be a lot of answers but I think the importance is that the reality of the invisible world over the visible. This is a rediscovery of the stream of consciousness based on ancient Oriental philosophy, and the idea of recognizing the truth is linked to being beyond the material world with all the visual appeal.

I think it is important to first have a deeper and broader perspective on emptiness. Emptiness has been a word with many meanings, aspects and feelings from different viewpoints, in various cultures. Cambridge vocabulary uses “sad feeling”, “not sincere”, and “a state with no emotion or purpose” for emptiness, while in Buddhism it is called “the true nature of things and events.” While a western view of emptiness often seems to be negative, in some eastern philosophies, it represents a state of stillness and placidity to see through the illusion, which represents the “mirror of the universe” and the “pure mind”. Lao Tzu in Tao Te Ching artistically quotes: “We mold clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vessel useful.”

I think the important thing is not how to look at it, but what to look at. At the same time, it is also a reminder that the material world is not all there is. I look at the relationship between humans and mother nature and the universe from a very broader perspective. I reach this point and become aware of breath. I think all thoughts and consciousness are breath. That is the consciousness, unconsciousness, the borderland of consciousness, the five senses, awareness and the transubconscious state of mind. The breath is the switch between the conscious and the subconscious mind, It is a connected cycle of creation and extinction. I believe that life and death, creation and extinction, are not dualistic opposites, but rather different forms of the same meaning derived from the One. It also implies that the visible world and the invisible world are not separate, but constitute a whole. And It is a soul resonance beyond the time frame. And It is a soul resonance beyond the time frame. I try to listen to all the conceptions of all things, have an open mind and remember what resonates, and this is how I work.

At this point, I reflect specific philosophical thoughts and ideas that are different from existing conventional surrealism. My Surrealism is not merely an exploration of the unconscious. It is a question of will and philosophy, and at the same time, intrepid introspection. This is because one cannot reach the inner essence of things through senses or unconscious images alone. We can only know what is true when we realize what is importance to us beyond what our senses perceive. This is my most important starting point for my art.

The self is not a fixed reality that is eternal. Everything is an interpreted phenomena and experiential structures of the ego or self-consciousness projected from consciousness, but why do we think of them as reality? The universe is not outside of us, but a flow within our consciousness, however, why do we think of it as a separate object from ourselves? This is the reason we need to realize pure consciousness as the fundamental awareness. Pure consciousness is not objective knowledge or experience of the five senses, but bare consciousness that encompasses all of these and already knows itself.

When I recall the memory of seeing the interconnected nature of all things, I cannot help but feel the greater pattern. And this is because philosophical reflection is interconnected beyond visible images. I am saying it again, because the idea of recognizing the truth is linked to being beyond the material world with all the visual appeal. My surrealism is the paradox of revealing the invisible through the visible.

Art is born anew at a point where language and the written word cannot reach. And, the true artist face the timeless truth. In that sense, my art is intended to make the viewers feel and think, but my delivery is intended to make the viewers listen to their own inner voice. And whatever it is, I hope it comes from the viewers' open minds and sets them free. It makes people, including myself, think beyond reality and into the essence of reality.

As an artist, I think there is a positive role for it. I believe that mature works of art that never ceases to experimental contemplate prepares the soul to recognize messages of all heights of truth, all the expanse of goodness and depth of beauty.

​This reality of perception will constantly evolve through my experience and my work. It is because, for me, art is an end in itself, and I am not working art to make money from it. The past, present, and future are big words and concepts created by humans. Time will reading more into my my artworks than I intended.

As I look back on that afternoon so long ago that presented my life, and as ever, when remembering the experience of seeing the interconnected nature of all things.. The flash point of all creation in the present moment is immortality.

www.jeongahzhang.com
www.instagram.com/jeongah_zhang

Epitaph Of Time And Space. 2025. Acrylic on Canvas. 61 X 81 cm

A Nap In The Mirror. 2017. Acrylic on Canvas. 61 X 81 cm

Everywhere But Nowhere. 2023. Acrylic on Canvas. 53 X 73 cm

The Spirit of the Fragrance. 2021. Acrylic on Canvas. 53 X 73 cm

A Layer – Phenomenal World. 2013. Oil and Acrylic on Canvas. 53 X 73 cm

One day, the breath of a flowerpot. 2025. Photo and Digital painting

6 buttons and Multi-dimensional structure. 2024. Acrylic on Canvas. 53 X 73 cm

The Thorns of Oblivion. 2021. Acrylic on Canvas. 53 X 73 cm

Gate Number 9. 2013. Acrylic on Canvas. 89 X 130 cm

Transparent Time Scale. 2021. Mixed Media on Canvas. 91 x 61 cm

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