Name
Puppets of Fate by Chae Tongyull
Description
For a young woman grown older, there is comfort in a daily routine of tea for two and a window with a view. Even if her companion isn't much for words, they share a silent, unspoken bond- at peace in their “charmed” life together.
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# As the old saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for." But is that always true? In "Puppets of Fate," artist Chae Tongyull explores the delicate and sometimes dangerous balance between desire and destiny. Reading like an ancient fable, this series of three NFTs weaves a tale of love, loss, and the enchanting power of the heart in shaping our fate. However, just like love- the moral of this story lies in the eye of the beholder. Where is the magic in a life without wishes? Is a life without dreams truly worth living? You decide your fate.
# These pieces are based on Chae Tongyull’s breakout series “Medieval Tales” from the 1980s and given new life through Midjourney.
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# [Chae Tongyull]
With a color palette as rich as his life story, the works of Chae Tongyull are steeped in literary symbolism and rooted in a deep appreciation for romantic adventure. Born in Busan amidst the Korean War of the 1950s, Chae has traveled the world, eventually seeking his fame and fortune within the U.S. In his twenties, he was the founder of the “Idists” movement, an expressionist group based out of New Orleans. Later, he would move to New York City to become one of the only Asian (and only Korean artists) within the East Village art scene of the 1980s, where he was a contemporary of legends such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Since 1993, he has traveled and painted extensively within the Himalayas, exploring remote regions in China, Tibet, Nepal, and India. His works gain inspiration from a diverse range of classic artistic and literary traditions: the prose of Shakespeare, mysterious legends from Korean folklore, the eccentric brushstrokes of Chinese Calligraphy master Pa-Ta-Shan-Jen, Buddhist philosophy, and much more. Because of their rich texture and unique subject matter, his art has been praised and collected for its value in straddling both American and South Korean cultural identities, as well as various places in between.
He has participated in various international exhibitions including within the Bronfman Center in Montreal, Saatchi & Saatchi in NYC, And the Beat Goes On in Shanghai and Chengdu, and are part of permanent collections within the Korean National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Samsung Lium Art Museum, Daelim Art Museum, and Daejeon Expo.