AN Irip (b. 1990, Seoul, South Korea) is an artist based in Seoul. He received his BFA in Painting from Sejong University and later earned his MFA in Painting at the same institution. Beginning with his early 'Instinct series' around 2013, his work has dealt with the primordial narratives of nature through the lens of survival and the aesthetics of the sublime. Drawing on visual cues from microscopic observation, he has since expanded his practice to explore the subtle narratives that emerge within the interactions of life and environment. More recently, he has extended the colors of dancheong (traditional Korean decorative painting) and the East Asian concept of spatial void (Yeo-baek 如白) into a painterly language, reflecting on the gaps between time, space, and existence in his ongoing Ma series.
He has held solo exhibitions including TRUE-BLUE (Spectrum Gallery, Seoul, 2021), Survivalism (ARTWA, Seoul, 2018), and Bleachers (Lespace71, Seoul, 2014). His group exhibitions include Fear: Xl (Indie Art Hall Gong, Seoul, 2018), The 5th Gyeomjae Jeongseon Museum of Art: Tomorrow’s Artists (Gyeomjae Jeongseon Museum of Art, Seoul, 2014), and HOTIST Curator’s Choice (Gana Art Center, Seoul, 2012), among many others. He was awarded the Tomorrow’s Artist Prize by the Gyeomjae Jeongseon Museum of Art (2014), and his work is included in the collection of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in the Republic of Korea.