Paintings in Search of a New Reality
Robert C. Morgan

2016

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The effort to reconcile the gap between material progress and the fundamental needs of humanity has become a major subject for artists in recent decades. There are ironic inconsistencies between the blind optimism being promoted through advanced technologies and the value and quality of human lives. Art is one of the few meaningful areas in which these conflicts can offer a more positive equilibrium. For Sungmo Cho, the act of painting is dedicated to achieving a necessary balance between technological culture and the hopes, aspirations that human beings hold in pursuit of happiness and stability in their everyday lives.
Sungmo Cho’s paintings represent a feeling of subtle pursuit, less in the material sense than through a spiritual approach to art, clearly related to the aspirations of young generation in the late 1960s in San Francisco who promoted the message, “Love and Peace” as an antidote to technological progress. Cho’s paintings are partially involved with popular culture, but from the perspective of a solitary artist who is questioning the possibility of how we might rediscover love and compassion in today’s excessive and fast-paced environment. He is further questioning the lack of attention being given to the life-source of our planet. These are not easy questions, but they are necessary ones that constitute the essential point of Cho’s art.
The American expression “old way, best way” may sound accurate. But commonplace adages and expressions often miss the delicate features that comprise such a point of view. To relegate one’s feelings to love and compassion for others is essentially come through a spiritual quest, a search for that which may not be obtainable. Even so, Sungmo’s intention as an artist is to try and communicate what he believes is of utmost importance. In some ways, Cho’s concern for a better world is reminiscence of some aspects of Neo-Confucian philosophy, specifically the scholars in Choseun Dynasty who favored spiritual fulfillment more than material wealth.
As his paintings have been progressed over the years, he now employs the depiction of “Love” in a cursive English script into the structure of his compositions. The cursive inscription of “Love” that looks a road image has become a kind of trademark or signature in his recent painting in addition to his remarkable sense of color. The message in these paintings adheres to a affirmative attitude toward humanity. This is his underlying purpose and motivation. As an artist, Cho still believes that painting should carry a message, which I find a remarkable attribute in the context of our current social and political environment. I am certain the artist Sungmo Cho understands that the superficial devices that tend to entrap us and can only work to our disadvantage, robbing us of our spiritual capabilities. Cho’s paintings appear to be moving on a more exuberant and positive track – a track that offers the potential of stability in everyday life in contrast to the “quiet desperation” that the transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau understood in viewing the upper crust of New England society in the mid-nineteenth century.
In many ways, the paintings of Sungmo Cho are precise paintings, because they are accurate in their finish and clear in what they want to achieve. Cho’s paintings evolve according to their own need, which stands apart from current trends. His paintings appear through the mirror of time that delivers a message accessible and substantial, both charming and intelligent. His paintings project a view of reality clearly entwined with art. The linear elements of his cursive script are exquisitely refined, while masterfully articulated.
The artist’s manner of showing us the oppositions and compromises necessary to live in this world, which is our everyday world, are convincing and encouraging. There is a dynamic in his series of paintings, titled Along the Road, which needs to be taken into account, and given further attention. It is not only a way of painting, but a way of life, a way of getting into the emotional and physical resources that we need to endure and to live our lives happily with a sense of complete fulfillment. This is the message I get from the paintings of Sungmo Cho.