Elusive Architecture in Watercolors of Korean Artist Sunga Park

Sunga Park, a Korean artist, captures the world through her watercolors with a sensitivity and fluidity that transforms the rigid lines of architecture into something almost alive, ethereal, and hauntingly beautiful. Have you ever looked at a building and felt as if it had a soul, whispering stories of the past through its walls? Park’s paintings seem to do just that, as she explores the delicate dance between permanence and the fleeting moments that buildings witness.

Her journey with watercolors began in Korea but truly flourished as she wandered the streets of cities across Europe and Asia. Each place she visited added layers to her understanding of architecture – not just as physical structures but as repositories of human experiences. Why does a particular building in her painting seem to lean towards the viewer, almost as if it yearns to share its secrets? It’s Park’s unique style—her brushstrokes don’t just depict, they evoke.

Park’s technique is unusual for architectural art. She allows her watercolors to bleed and blend, giving her work an impressionistic feel that traditional architectural sketches seldom convey. What might it feel like to see the sharp edges of reality soften into a morning mist? Her art offers an answer, showing us buildings veiled in a dreamy wash of colors, where the boundaries of stone and time blur.

The scenes she chooses are as varied as the cities she visits. From the ornate, almost melancholic facades of Parisian apartments to the spirited, colorful vibrancy of Bangkok’s market streets, each piece offers a glimpse into a world where architecture is more than mere background – it’s a character in its own right. Does the mood of a city change when seen through her eyes? Perhaps, as her paintings often carry a quiet solitude, a reflective quality that makes the viewer pause and look closer.

In Park’s world, light plays a crucial role. It alters the mood, changes the story of the buildings she paints. A gloomy day might cast shadows that turn an ordinary alley into a pathway to forgotten tales; a sunny afternoon can bathe a tired old building in a hopeful glow. How does light affect the way we feel about a place at a particular moment? Her work challenges us to see the answer.

Her art is not just an exploration of places but of emotions and the passage of time. Each brushstroke and color choice reflects a moment captured in watercolor, fleeting and fragile, like memory itself. What stories do these buildings hold? What secrets are sealed beneath layers of paint and years of existence? Park invites us to ponder these questions, to view her paintings not just as art but as a dialogue between the past and the present.

As Sunga Park continues to travel and paint, each new piece adds to a growing tapestry of narratives. Her art serves as a reminder of the power of seeing deeply—beyond the surface, into the heart of places and moments. Through her unique lens, we are reminded that beauty often lies in the fleeting, in the spaces between what was and what could be. Isn’t that something worth pausing to think about?

Kolkata, India