CreatripTeam

Lee Jung-sung’s painting "Elegant World" (2021) packs thousands of years of human history into a single canvas. Rather than simple portraits, his crowded scenes show many figures in varied poses and interactions, creating tensions, balances, and layered emotions. The work ranges from Paleolithic discoveries and the birth of philosophy to industrialization and modern tragedies like the Sewol ferry and Itaewon disasters, blending beauty, struggle, and brutality. Bold colors, rough brushwork, and thick impasto convey emotional intensity and close-knit social dynamics—the crowded groups breathe like a small society. Born in Miryang and shaped by life in Daejeon, Lee witnessed glamour alongside anxiety and isolation but paints with empathy rather than cynicism. Despite depicting cultural violence and historic tragedies, the painting ultimately affirms human solidarity and the possibility of building a better society—a moment of revelation that art can offer. (Sewol ferry: a 2014 South Korean ferry disaster; Itaewon: a 2022 crowd crush during Halloween in Seoul.)