Park Ki-woong, who has appeared in numerous works as an actor and in recent years has also gained recognition as an artist. In the first part of this dialogue with Korean art critic Hong Kyung-han, they discuss the background of the “Villain Series” that leads to the current exhibition “Future Superhero” at Whitestone Gallery Seoul, as well as his creative approach that draws no line between acting and art.

Art and Acting Are Inseparable

Hong Kyung-han and Park Ki-woong

Hong Kyung-han: Please introduce yourself briefly.

Park Ki-woong: Hello. I'm Park Ki-woong, who acts and also paints. Nice to meet you.

Hong: Since this interview will be translated into Japanese and English, I'll ask questions that fans abroad and those who appreciate your artwork might be curious about. Where do you get inspiration for your work?

Park: Initially, I wanted to separate actor Park Ki-woong from artist Park Ki-woong. I thought it was respectful and fair to currently active artists. I felt I needed to present some profound discourse and keep these identities separate, but this approach started to feel uncomfortable.

Hong: Did it feel like you were pretending or artificially creating something?

Park: Yes. I wanted to create good work, but acting has occupied more than half of my life. I realized I couldn't produce good results if I didn't incorporate that into my artwork. That's how the "Villain Series" began. There was a period when I received a lot of attention for playing villains, and despite having more heroic roles, I was sometimes seen as a villain specialist. I came to believe I understood the villain’s perspectives better than the audience did.

The most challenging aspect of portraying a villain is fully understanding them. As Park Ki-woong the person, I know this is wrong, but as a character, I feel that there's more to the reason for this behavior. For example, in "Bridal Mask," scenes where I tortured independence fighters were justified from my character's perspective. This disconnect was often difficult. However, villains are frequently one-dimensional and functional, often serving merely as catalysts for the protagonist's heroic actions. I thought I understood this point well, and I noticed that most people in the world aren't glamorous protagonists but live as pieces of society. Yet in their own lives, everyone is the protagonist.

The Depth of Layered Rhythm

Whitestone Gallery Seoul

Hong: So regardless of whether it's a villain or hero role, you believe the perspective changes the narrative? It seems your identity as an actor and your background as an art major are creating something new within the art genre. It's also interesting how villains, while not as glamorous as protagonists, play crucial roles, and how you've internalized this process. I heard you typically spend 15 hours painting?

Park: Yes, that's about right. Sometimes if an idea suddenly comes to me, I'll go to my studio at midnight still wearing pajamas.

Hong: What process do you follow during those 15 hours? Do you start with sketches?

Park: Yes, I begin with sketches. While I used to do many drawing sketches before, this time I wanted to try collecting fragments. I composed everything digitally in Photoshop, then worked from that. There are many more layers than in my previous exhibition. This time, rather than adding elements, I wanted to express a sense of the image blurring, so I applied thick matière, pressed it, and sometimes rubbed it with a fan or brush. I kept repeating this process of building layers and pressing them.

Hong: That's quite a complex process.

Park: Yes. It varies by piece, but typically there are about 7-9 layers.

Hong: I'll need to look more closely. This is a new discovery. On the surface, one might only see the colors or form, but there's depth inside. Thank you.

Park: And the texts in this series are dialogues from movies like "No Country for Old Men," "Ocean's Eleven," and "The Dark Knight Rises." I deliberately blurred or made the dialogues look like it was trembling to make them visible in a certain way. It's my interpretation as an actor. I think the rhythm of dialogue is very important, and I wanted to express that visually.

Hong: So that's why the word "rhythm" appears in your artist's note.

Park: Yes. Since text can be very direct when placed on screen, I intentionally made it blurry.

Facing Great Actors at Close Range

Park Ki-woong and Hong Kyung-han looking at the works

Park: Even if I appear as a subject or direct, I thought this work might be interpreted as part of the genre I've been involved in rather than purely as artwork in the art world. So I was also planning sculpture work, not just flat pieces. After this process of building my artistic worldview, which started last year, I plan to try media-based direction next.

Hong: So you're in a kind of tempering process right now. It seems the rhythm and worldview from your experience as an actor are embodied in your paintings. The most talked about exhibition of 2023; the 48 Villains. 300,000 people visited is that correct?

Park: Yes, just a bit over 300,000 people.

Hong: That's an impressive number. How was the response?

Park: Many people visited. Some felt it was somewhat scary rather than accessible, with the black-and-white portraits of actors who played villain roles.

Hong: There must have been many people unfamiliar with art.

Park: But some might have thought it was accessible because the works included familiar actor faces. Actually, many visitors enjoyed guessing games by pointing out the movie characters. I didn't mind that. However, my approach was conceptually completely different from ordinary portrait work. Sometimes when I’m acting with senior actors I admire, I feel a sense of thrill wishing the scenes never end. 

Hong: That's a moment when an actor is captivated by another actor.

Park: Yes, I actually feel more free as the camera angle narrows. When the angle gets tighter, it feels like my own room where no one can intrude, which I like. When the camera focuses tightly, I sometimes deliberately pause before continuing my lines. I felt these action dialogues or reactions resembled portrait work. So I worked imagining these great actors as my scene partners.

Hong: So that's why all the paintings are close-up faces.

Park: Yes, when acting with a senior I respect, we're filming an over-shoulder shot from about this distance, and that moment gives me such a thrill. I wanted to capture that feeling in my work.

48 Portraits in Black and White

Whitestone Gallery Seoul

Hong: The 48 villains didn't just appear randomly. Now that I hear your explanation, I see there's a reason for everything.

Park: Structurally, I was inspired by Gerhard Richter's "48 Portraits." It's not an homage, but I found his 48-piece composition interesting. I originally wanted to hang them in a cluster formation on one wall, but due to exhibition space constraints, they were hung in two rows. After the exhibition, there were many inquiries about purchasing the works, but I explained that all 48 pieces constitute a single artwork, so they couldn't be sold unless someone acquired the entire collection.

Hong: Because if even one is missing, it's no longer complete.

Park: Exactly.

Hong: Richter is said to have reviewed hundreds of materials before selecting which to use. Did you go through a similar process?

Park: Of course. I didn't just create 48 pieces; I made many more. While searching for references, I saw Richter's work and felt that this is the composition I wanted.

Hong: The composition immediately formed in your mind when you saw it.

Park: Yes, and I chose black and white. In films too, like the black-and-white version of "Parasite," I appreciate the emotion black and white conveys. Expressions and emotions are more visible without the distraction of color. That's why I decided to work in black and white.

Hong: It's because of the emotional response black and white evokes.

Park: Correct, I combined black and white with Richter's composition to complete the 48 pieces.

Hong Kyung-han delves into the heart of Park Kiwoong’s practice—from a creative process guided by emotional rhythm to the thinking behind a series shaped by his work as an actor. In part two, he discusses the works on view in the current exhibition “Future Superhero.”

View Part Two

PARK KI-WOONG: Future Superhero