Seongmin Ahn

Seongmin Ahn will lead workshops for schools and the public in creating works of art inspired by lunar images in mediums as varied as sumi ink painting, folded-paper collage, 3D-spherical sculpture, Korean mask-making, and pencil. Participants can explore formal elements of art like texture, positive and negative space, and color contrast through traditional Asian techniques, while they engage in creating unique and sometimes functional artworks. By opening up a dialogue between East and West, traditional and contemporary, Ahn encourages her audience to recognize the interconnectedness of contradictory elements and, by understanding the perspective of the other, come to better understand themselves.

Ahn received her B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Asian traditional painting from Seoul National University in Seoul Korea, earning her second M.F.A from Mount Royal, Maryland Institute College of Art. Ahn’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including solo shows at Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE; Queens College Art Center, Flushing, NY; and the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY. She has taught art classes and workshops at the Maryland Institute College of Art, the School of Visual Arts, the Queens Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Asia Society.

Sunday, February 24, 12:30–4:30pm
Korean Mask Making

Korean masks, with facial expressions from the whimsical to the cynical, are used as props in dance performances to make social and political commentary. Personalize your own paper mask and decorate it with paint and a variety of 3D collage materials. This workshop takes place during the Lunar New Year Festival.

Sunday, February 24, 12:30–4:30pm
Lucky Pouch: Paper Folding with Paint and Decoration

Participate in the Lunar New Year tradition of making lucky pouches to be presented as gifts, wishing good fortune to the recipient. Make yours by folding construction paper with an age-appropriate technique, and decorate it with paint and other craft materials. This workshop takes place during the Lunar New Year Festival.

Sunday, March 17, 1:30–3:30pm
Moon and Negative Space

Observe the changing phases of the moon in paintings and photographs on view in the galleries. Then, in a workshop, choose a moon phase and recreate it with drawing materials and juxtapositions of color, texture, and fabric against a contrasting background.

Saturday, April 27, 1:30–3:30pm
Asian Color Painting: Focus on Flowers

Create a flower painting inspired by the floral motifs of Glenview using the unique visual language of traditional Korean folk painting. Practice the basic techniques through a simplified process, using mulberry paper, Sumi ink and brush, watercolor, pigment, and rabbit-skin glue. Minhwa, nineteenth-century Korean folk painting, was intimately related to everyday life. It displays the wit and humor of the Korean people and expresses the wish for good luck, long life, and the expulsion of evil spirits.

Saturday, May 11, 1:30–3:30pm
Moon Color

Observe the vivid effects of contrasting colors in your own lunar landscape, by first painting a monochromatic moon and then using a color wheel to change the mood!