Seoul: South Korean painter Kim Bohie is renowned for her lyrical portrayal of the southern island of Jeju, capturing its palm trees, flowers, and turquoise waters alongside her 15-year-old dog Leo against varying shades of light.

According to Yonhap News Agency, in "Towards: There was Light," Kim showcases approximately 30 paintings at Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, including new pieces from the Toward series that depict the landscapes of the southern island she has made her home. Among the works is "The Days" (2022), a monumental piece that was recently displayed in the Unlimited sector of Art Basel in Basel earlier this year, filling one side of the room with green bursts of plants and flowers.

The exhibition, as its title suggests, reminds viewers of the first moment of creation, when light emerged from darkness. It extends toward Kim's gratitude for nature, a source of inspiration throughout her 40-year artistic journey. Kim has long studied light, beginning with her early works in the 1970s that capture the light spreading through an early-morning forest or ripples that illuminate a river.

Her exploration of light has expanded since moving to Jeju in 2003, where she began depicting how light illuminates the rich green and blue hues of the island, its horizons, and its plants and flowers as they change through different times of the day and seasons. Rather than drawing what she observes at the scene, she contemplates nature over time and reconstructs it on the canvas, adding her own interpretation.

"There is no one reason why I focus on green and blue. If you come to Jeju, what you will see is the turquoise ocean and hues of green and blue. When you paint the sky and the sea, that is all you need," she told reporters at the gallery. "While I borrow the colors, it is the sea that lives inside my heart," she added. "I painted them all simply because I loved what I was painting."

Born in 1952, Kim studied Korean painting at Ewha Womans University in Seoul and served as a faculty member until 2017. Her works have been collected by national art museums, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, as well as the foreign ministry. The exhibition marks her first solo exhibition in the country since her previous exhibition at the Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art in 2022. It runs through Oct. 18.