de boer's space in Los Angeles is pleased to present Today, a solo exhibition by Korean-born Los Angeles-based artist Julia Elise Hong. The exhibition debuts a series of new oil paintings on canvas. The title, Today, reflects the core theme of the paintings representing the present moment and an ongoing, continuous sense of existence.
Hong begins each picture by building the canvases to the exact dimensions of a historical painting, setting the stage for a deep exploration of the past, present and future. Without reference to photography, she builds the compositions with expressive brushstrokes, seeking to unearth figures from within the paint itself.
For Hong, her paintings serve as an intimate dialogue, akin to a conversation between two people. “Yet, for the flatness and opacity of the image, neither can fully access the other.” she explains. In these moments of separation, Hong strives to grasp something elusive, a fleeting understanding that can only be described as miraculous. Roland Barthes’ concept of Punctum—that which touches us deeply in a photograph—mirrors Hong’s exploration of this sensation, which she identifies as a moment of realization: the feeling of knowing someone or something fully, if only for an instant.
In Young Man Seated Beside the Sea (after Flandrin’s Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea, 1837), 2025, Hong reinterprets the dimensions of the 19th-century masterpiece by French artist Hippolyte Flandrin, leaving the compositional elements intentionally ambiguous. The result is a work that challenges viewers to question the essence of the scene, inviting them to consider not only the fleeting moment of realization, but also the moments surrounding it—the anticipation, the aftermath, and the space in between. For Hong, the pursuit of a painting is not simply about capturing a singular moment, but rather exploring the journey toward it, the ever-shifting sense of time and perception.
