Byen Ung Pil

Born South Korea, Byen Ung Pil’s paintings provide an extremely detailed take on self-reflection, persuading viewers to plunge into reality. In addition, they make us witness each nook and cranny of the artist’s self-portraits with a magnifying glass. Being uniquely obstinate with his brushstrokes, Byen Ung Pil’s paintings bring forth the stark truth of modern-day technological advancement without distorting his corporeal self-portraits.

Striving to break away from the stereotypical art scene, Byen Ung Pil launched his highly credited art series of self-portraits with all the aberrant characteristics expunged, which paved the way for his acclaimed oeuvre. There’s a distinctive representation of emotions that are unveiled in each of his portraits, which almost comes off as mellow but has a sense of unwavering curiosity. Gazing directly at the viewers, the eyes are honestly revealing his inner turbulence. They are extremely performative!

Expressed in a photo-realistic style, the self-portraits are painted with purposeful wrap scenarios that are mostly unnerving - one cannot help but get captivated by the overwhelming technical execution of the forced proximity.

After his accomplishment in the German art scene, Byen Ung Pil, returned to South Korea, imbibing the perspective of Korean art. Not deviating from his style of self-portraits, he depicts figures as anonymous beings, capturing expressions with the least shades, employing mostly lines, planes, and colours.

Byen Ung Pil, renowned for his distinctive artworks has held successive art exhibitions throughout the time in Korea, Germany, and Bangladesh, to name a few. His art is displayed in the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Seoul Museum of Art, Marta Herford Museum of Art, and Supreme Court of NRW, Germany.

Byen Ung Pil lives and works in South Korea.