Floating people

Lee Sangwon (b.1978) His paintings vividly express people walking along the beach, people swimming in the water, people hiking mountains, people zigzagging across snow-covered ski slopes, people taking photos of others or selfies buried in fields of rape flowers, people walking their dogs in the park, people jogging, people sitting or lying down to take breaks, colorful tents spotting camping grounds, people on top of surfboards enjoying the waves, and people visiting vacation spots, as well as its respective sceneries. Though vivid, they are not realistic. At first, they are quite descriptive, but this is actually not the case even at first glance. What do I mean? Features that stand out especially in his early works are the high angle point of view and staffage. When viewed from above, people look like dots. Despite this, the shadows on the white paper and on top of the canvas add a sense of reality (which becomes even more evident in the people walking on the beach), and his talent for observation and sensational ability to capture the motion and force of people that appear to be far away with just a few strokes of the brush add life to his paintings. In result, despite the fact that these people have their backs turned and most do not have faces, the audience can sense the expressions made on these invisible faces.