Insook Park: “Respiration”, a Journey Through Space
An Artist’s Guide To a New Human Experience
Park, L- 001, 002, 003-26, (2026), acrylic and colored pencil on wood, 36” diameter, Photo by: Brigitte E. O’Neil
Upon entering “Respiration”, one is swept away on a spatial and, simultaneously, transcendental journey. Curated by Julie Jang and Chunbum Park, Insook Park’s works are spread about the space seemingly at random. However, through closer examination, it becomes clear that the placement of each work is a gentle, conscious invitation on this journey. Showcased at LOT-EK, 620 East 9th Street, NY, “Respiration” was on display from August 6 - 29, 2026. The opening reception was held on Thursday, August 6th, from 6 - 8 pm.
Park is a Seoul-born artist, currently based in New York and New Jersey. Her artwork is inspired by plum blossoms and the traditional Korean bojagi cloth. Park propounds a sort of playful yet deeply meditative expression through rhythm and color. Two or more polar entities converge into one body; more than a mere interplay, it is a sacred union.
Exhibition View of “Respiration”, Photo by: Brigitte E. O’Neil
Park, L- 012-26, 12” x 12”, L-003-26, 2026, 36” in diameter, acrylic and colored pencil on wood, Photo by: Brigitte E. O’Neil
Park's work possesses a subtle sense of disorientation. At first glance, the paintings appear to provide the security of a map. Colored circles gesture to destinations, lines connect regions, and pathways intersect one another. The eye begins to wander on its own. There occurs a search for something tangible: a beginning, a path, an endpoint. However, with each grasp at understanding, the map becomes more vague, dissolving right before the eyes, the longer one looks at it. These are not maps of any particular location. They are pieces of something divine, transcendent. Symbolic places of the artist’s own psyche, regions shaped by memory and emotion. Park's display masterfully captures this ambiguity.
Across the paintings, a certain language repeats with the tenacious rhythm of oceanic swells. Lines, grids, circles, knots and fields of colour present themselves to the viewer. Repetition, however, does not become redundant. Each piece seems to be a different opening-up upon the same idea: what if transcendence and freedom exist in the same spatial location as the mundane, only under a different light? What if liberation is closer than we had initially believed?
Park, L- 008- 26, 2026, acrylic and colored pencil on wood, 24” x 24”, Photo by: B+G Magazine
Park, L- 009- 26, 2026, acrylic and colored pencil on wood, 24” x 24”, Photo by: Brigitte E. O’Neil
A new object is divulged from the subconscious: the subtle micaceous silver element. The silver occurs meditatively and deliberately throughout the paintings, not unlike the seafoam of the waves of the sea. The intentionally-placed overhead lighting of the exhibit playfully prompts the silver element of the paintings. In certain positions, the viewer is unable to see the silver. Once one takes a step forwards, however, the playful glint of pearlescence tugs at the viewer’s attention. One tries to go back, to see it once again, and it is gone: elusive and fleeting. The spatial organization of Park’s paintings further prompts the viewer on this journey.
Park unifies the material and spiritual worlds, challenging the common notion that the divine exists separate from the mundane. Bold, striking lines and angles of the tree branches are highlighted by the fluidity of silver- a hint of the ineffable. Both obscurity and immersivity acting upon the other as one whole. As an artist born and rooted in two major cities, Park is faced with the nuances of freedom and transcendence. The urban lifestyle is overly immersed in the physical realm of existence, almost erasing the spiritual and ineffable. Park, however, understands that both aspects are necessary for an elevated, integrated human experience.
Park, L-016-26, 2026, acrylic and colored pencil on wood, 8” x 8”, Photo by: Brigitte E. O’Neil
For Park, the arduous search for liberation has come to an end. The answer lies in her artworks: transcendence begins and takes root in the physical, the biological. The most foundational characteristic of life and biology is the breath. Park beautifully encapsulates and plays along with its ephemerality. For Park, transcendence occurs through the sacred acts of observing nature and connecting to one’s own breath.
“Respiration” functions both as a meditation on unity, and a symbolic framework for a new mode of human existence. An element of receptivity and surrender are vital to navigating Park’s solo exhibition. The viewer must allow themselves to become fully immersed in and subject to the experience. Park’s journey is a sacred undertaking on a path to unity and expansion. She invites the visitor to take this journey with her, hand in hand. The new world that Park has propounded through her works becomes accessible to all viewers: a holistic reality. One must simply be willing enough to surrender, to see it.
About LO-TEK: LOT-EK is a sustainable organization focused on transforming the essence of industrial infrastructure. They redefine functionality through a lens of collaboration and meaning-making. LOT-EK’s art curation space, “ouryellowwall”, is an opportunity for community members to meet and celebrate the art and craft of their fellow community members.
