Ji Ryoo, a multi-talented American artist of Korean descent, has established herself as a promising figure in the art world. With a background in Fine Arts from South Korea, Ji Ryoo's artistic journey began at a young age, starting her academic art practice and college preparation at just 10 years old. Her early exposure to art has shaped her unique perspective and approach to creativity.

 

Upon moving to the United States, Ji Ryoo pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, expanding her artistic horizons to explore new mediums and ideas. It was during her time working as a 3D graphic artist in New York City that she honed her skills in resin and oil paint, developing a distinctive abstract expression style.

 

Her experience in the 2D/3D design field has allowed her to embrace technological advancements as an integral part of her artistic practice. Driven by a deep interest in perception and the complexities of reality, Ji Ryoo's work delves into the intricate interplay between the tangible (materials/body/marks/layers) and the intangible (emotion/sense/time).

 

Through her series "Light in Darkness," she employs a visual language of blues, marks, and layers as metaphors to explore these contrasting definitions. By stripping her works of imagistic references, she challenges viewers to engage with their own perceptions and aesthetics, tapping into their primal emotions, memories, and experiences.

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Today, Ji Ryoo operates her own studio in Leonia, New Jersey, where she specializes in resin, concrete, and multimedia oil painting. In addition to her artistic pursuits, she is the founder of NUART, an Advanced Fine Art Prep School catering to high school and pre-college students, and serves as the vice president of the nonprofit organization Leonia Arts. Ji Ryoo's multidimensional career reflects her passion for art education, curation, and entrepreneurship, solidifying her status as a versatile and influential figure in the art community.

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"The blue, it is my prayer, isolation and connection."

The blue of my screen is a space without light, an inner space, a breath to live in, an island, and a connection to the world. It is the sky, water, air, and abundance of light. In that blue, I communicate with myself inside. The wounds flow in different directions in the dark inner space of the screen. become different layers, visually building up the weight of the emotions and air at that moment. Momentary emotions accumulate to create me. None of them came at once. The work of drawing is an inner rest and prayer to me. It is a fierce rest to live life, not just breathing, so it was a prayer to me. I cannot live without it.

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The textures of my prayers share emotional experiences with the audience and bring back each person's personal memories through the color blue. The images are brought back by the audience themselves. The emotions of that moment, the connection with the inner self, and the moment of contact with the world, are left and engraved as traces and forms of marks on the screen. The eastern lines and traces that I have trained for a long time meet the Western oil painting technique of layering to create a combination of the East and the West on my work. Just like my current position as a Korean American.