The fascination with paper making has always been inside of Yoonshin Park. Her newest exhibit, “Prompt and Prompted,” at the Hyde Park Art Center, showcases reimagined structures of what books can be in an art form known as artist books.
The exhibit, which runs Jan. 24 through May 10, will also offer free hands-on workshops for guests to make their own artist books on select dates.
Park came to Chicago from South Korea to study at Columbia College Chicago in the early 2000s. She teaches at the Hyde Park Art Center as well as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has shown other exhibits focusing on the medium of artist books at Concordia University and the Chicago Artists Coalition. But this time, she is showing some of her students’ pieces in the show as well.
Park selected a dozen of her students’ artworks to display at the exhibit.
“They’re absolutely excited because those people who are in the exhibition have taken my classes more than twice, so they are well aware of the differences between traditional book form and they understand the qualities of this book medium,” she said.
Rebecca Kelly, one of Park’s students, is looking forward to having her work be shown and has an appreciation for Park.
“I feel that she’s incredibly generous to acknowledge that her teaching impacts her art and that we play a role in that process,” Kelly said. “It shows her great generosity as a spirit, as an artist and as a human being that she would share the stage of a solo show with 12 of her students.”
John-Michael Korpal taught at the Hyde Park Art Center, where he met Park. He’s taken about six of her classes, where he said he’s learned a lot.
“I love the fact that she gives us permission to make mistakes and learn and that’s really powerful when you’re making art because the inner critic is so loud that to have someone doing that is really comforting,” he said.
He’s had his work in other exhibits, but he said that this is the first time he feels like he’s doing it with a group of friends.
“Usually when you apply for a show, you’re competing with the other people, whether you get chosen or not, and this still had that element, but this is more like a family or community that we were all happy to be part of and very supportive,” Korpal said.
Park wanted to “expand the possibilities” of what could be made with artist books in the new exhibit.
For over 20 years, Park has contributed to paper art and is showing some of her older and newer artworks with the exhibit. She is feeling excited to show off her passion.
“This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for me to promote this unique and special creative medium to the general audience,” Park said.
“Prompt and Prompted” runs Jan. 24 through May 10 at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., hydeparkart.org