The work of Korean artist Heesu Choi brings an entirely new perspective to classic primitivism, infusing it with a fresh vitality, passion, and intensity. The style of Choi is called neoprimitivism, an art school that focuses on the depiction of the most pure, innermost world of the human soul. Forms are abstract rather than realistic, colors are intense, and lines and geometrical shapes are intricately woven into memorable compositions. The result is images that are stunning in their execution and speak to the deeper truths of our human existence in this world.
Overall, in each of his pieces, Choi seeks to evolve messages of the soul out of unrealistic forms, provoking in the viewer expansion of imagination and an entirely new way of perceiving the world. As Choi explains, “It is not a visual representation of a thing or realistic expression but a private expression that aims to find a message of God…and to return to the source of life through the center of human history [via] a primitive image.”
Heesu Choi currently lives, works, and teaches in Hwaseong City, Korea.