Ara Youn is a Korean-born, UK-based artist whose work is distinguished by its bold yet ethereal use of colour and light. Her pronounced compositions focus on the ethos of the scene. Ara finds inspiration in textiles, gardens and light, which she meticulously incorporates into her works to explore the central theme, duality. @arayoun
You’ve lived between Seoul and the UK for much of your life. How has that shaped your relationship to creativity and colour? I almost spent half of my life in Seoul, South Korea, and the other half in the UK. Art just happened at an early age. Colour has been my favourite object of exploration since I learnt how to hold pencils. I started to colour almost everything - from Christmas card envelopes to my dad's cactus pots. My lively mind for colour led me to the world of graphic design for a decade, and I thought I would be a graphic designer for my entire life. However, I was fascinated by the textiles because you can touch and feel it unlikely from computer-driven graphic designs. So, I deep-dived into the fashion industry and became a women's wear designer and entrepreneur, which greatly influenced my current paintings. After all the diverse journey, I feel the deepest satisfaction and connection with painting as I used to do in my childhood.
You’ve spent years immersed in graphic design and fashion. What was the turning point that led you toward painting? Being an artist wasn't on my to-be list until I got into my 40s, despite I have always been living in the creative world.
For me, painting is a visual report of self-exploration. I recognised that there is a sea of unseen emotions and unspoken words inside of me, like everybody has, and they need to be seen. The more I saw, the more I felt confused, so I carefully (because it felt scary) started to pull them out on the canvas.
I have been writing journals since I was a teen. I love to pour my thoughts and emotional feelings into my journal so I can see myself from the outside, as an observer. Now, painting allows me to see things that cannot be expressed as words.
How do you approach a day in your studio? Are there particular routines, materials, or spaces you find grounding as you begin a painting? My painting studio is in the corner of the dining room, overlooking my very first garden. Brushes are nicely organised by textures and height in glass jars, and I treat them as close friends. I mostly paint with oil, and the paints are organised from vivid to pastel. My easel is placed by the window, so I feel like I'm painting surrounded by flowers and green leaves.
What projects are you working on at the moment? What draws you to those contrasts, and how are they showing up in your work right now? My current focus is duality, such as the desire to be seen and unseen, light and shadow or femininity and masculinity. Duality is one of human nature that often creates conflict and unique beauty. Observing the dynamic balance of the duality is one of the ways to understand myself and the bigger world for me.
What kinds of emotional or sensory responses do you hope your paintings invite from viewers? If my painting can lead people to stay in the presence, for a very short while, that would be most satisfying as an artist. I'm trying to visualise what I found in my world, and hopefully, people can find and understand something similar in their world.
If you could spend an afternoon with any artist—past or present—whose work would you want to be surrounded by, and why? David Hockney. I would love to listen to what beauties he sees in the world.
Do you draw inspiration from music, art, or other disciplines? I find inspiration in textiles, lights and gardening. They closely influence my everyday life.
A great thing about living in Worthing is…
I live near the Brooklands Park. Strolling the park simply opens and widen the room in my mind.
Has there been a time when painting felt particularly difficult or uncertain? How did you navigate that moment? Every day is a challenge for me, especially emotionally. I feel pressure to paint something outstanding, and as soon as I notice the pressure, I remind myself that 'keep painting' is my only job.
Tell us about important teachers/mentors/collaborators in your life. I was lucky to meet Darren Raven at the London College of Communication. He was such an inspirational, open-minded tutor who guided me to be lost in the creative process with conviction. Darren also shared his wisdom: go for a walk when you feel stuck.
Sustainability in the art world is an important issue. How does time in nature enter into your artistic process or perspective? Nature is one of my main inspirations, especially natural light, the ocean and flowers. Swimming in the sea has always been an amazing experience for me. It makes me feel like I'm in Mother Nature's arms safely, and allows my mind to be open so I can see my mind and thoughts on a greater scale. Growing flowers is just magic. Cameras cannot capture the essence of the beauty and mystery of flowers. I find dynamic beauty, sereneness, balance and joy from flowers.
AI is changing everything. As technology continues to reshape the creative landscape, what feels essential to you about the human touch in artmaking? For me, AI and technology are tools for efficiency. I believe hand-touched human art contains the energy of the artist and the material used, so nothing is the same or can be repeated (because energy is always moving). Art is a form of energy that is uniquely created with unique ingredients on a unique timeline.
Exploring ideas, art, and the creative process connects me to…
the oneness.
