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I started this body of work about a year ago. Letting go of the broccoli woman, I re-introduced a simple, cyclopic oval-headed figure whom I had frequently drawn after I gave birth to my twin girls in 2015. In many of the works, I decided to let go of the figure altogether, focusing entirely on landscape. I felt the need to simplify my practice and focus more on painting itself, with less reliance on figure and narrative. The continuation of landscapes, which started with the broccoli woman, symbolizes a desire to escape and connect with nature and the universe. I thought a lot about early American modernists such as Marsden Hartley and Milton Avery, and their search for spiritual meaning. As someone experiencing mid-life, I have been thinking more about spirituality and life’s journey, hence much of the work features a path or road, symbolizing a quest.
During the making of this work, I significantly injured my hip in the winter, then later in the spring I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Rather than change the direction of my work, I realized the work I had started was still highly relevant, and the initial desire for escape and serenity in these landscapes felt more urgent. Both my injury and diagnosis helped me learn how to rest, slow down and be still. In a quieter head space, I started appreciating poetry more. "Two Roads" is inspired by the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken". It made me think about the choices we make in life and the ones we don't, how random and inconsequential they may seem, but meaningful in the end. I really wanted this body of work to function like poetry; it needs to be taken in slowly because it was made slowly, with more blending and patience than previous bodies of work. The representation of all the seasons symbolizes the changes we go through in life. Despite all the ups and downs, life moves ever forward, even when we are being still.
–Hein Koh
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