Apollo in Love

Based in Oakland, New York, and Seoul, South Korea, Younhee Chung Paik is best known for her vibrant, light-infused depictions of primordial imagery—fire, the ocean, the sky, and outer space— along with recurring symbols imbued with personal meaning, such as fish, boats, ladders, stairs, and trees. She began her signature large-scale paintings on aluminum after a trip to New York in 1995, influenced by the rough, industrial character of the urban environment. Inspired by the artist’s visit to the Temple of Apollo in Greece, Apollo in Love offers an homage to the Greek myth about the god of light and poetry, Apollo’s love for Daphne, a beautiful nymph and the daughter of the river god Peneus. According to the myth, in response to Apollo’s mocking of the god of love, Eros, he fired two arrows: one that made Apollo fall in love with Daphne, and another one that struck the nymph with an aversion for love. As Apollo persistently pursued Daphne, she decided to transform into a laurel.

“To speak of the thin crescent moon as being new is to forget that only when the dark half faces the earth is the moon truly new.
Politics waxes and wanes, and like a lunar eclipse, it vanishes only to return rejuvenating itself as it reaches its full intensity.”
 —Trinh T. Minh-ha, When the moon waxes red, 1991