(Los Angeles, CA) As part of the In Situ series, Make Room is proud to present Holes In the City, a new collection of paintings from New York-based artist Youngmin Park. These paintings capture urban life from the perspective of the smallest observer, the unbothered eyes of a fly, to separate the viewer from the business of daily life.
“I was seeking holes in the city. Holes create a space where we are set free from the spectacle, they serve as a place for rest and wandering. Therefore, ironically, they are a space that you have to actively seek out, not a given space.” – Youngmin Park
It is difficult to separate life in a city from labor. The visuals of industry are all around us. They dominate the skyline, in turn dictating the pace of our lives. Park paints smoke stacks and stoplights as symbols of urban life that separate us from natural freedom. This is portrayed through the motif of the fly, an animal that is ignorant of these forces. The fly meanders through the air, pausing and resting as it pleases.
These pieces present a calmness to the viewer. They put the beiges and greys of the city against the soft yellows and blues of an evening sky. This captures a contrast between the constraints of man-made architecture and the lightness of the atmosphere. These skylines are presented alongside stoic portraits and figures with flies replacing or obstructing their eyes. They long for respite from the constant hustle of life, while feeling guilt for this same desire.
Each work creates a hole for the viewer to see into and take a moment of contemplation. In the titular piece, Hole in the City, a red fly sits centered in space, floating in the street between two rows of houses. The fly is encircled in gray spotlighting the hole created through the structures of the city, leading to the sky and clouds in the distance. Driving home from work or an evening walk becomes a moment of stillness and beauty. Looking Inside the Buttonhole, draws the eye into the smallest holes we carry. Faces and flies look back at you through these buttons, allowing your vision to linger in the space created.
We invite you to find a place to rest, a place where you can forget about all the nonsense of the city. High above the city, inside our own sanctuary.
About Artist
Youngmin Park (b. 1997, Seoul, South Korea) is a contemporary artist currently based in New York City. She earned her BFA from the Korea National University of Arts and completed her MFA at Columbia University in 2024.
Park’s artistic practice delves into the fragility of perception and memory, drawing inspiration from her upbringing as the youngest member of a large, multi-generational household filled with both people and animals. This environment cultivated her interest in the complex power dynamics between humans and animals, as well as the nuanced interplay of memory, perception, and care. Her work often features recurring motifs such as figures, dogs, and birds, which she uses to explore the mutable nature of narratives and the layered complexities of lived experience.
In early 2024, Park held a solo exhibition titled Allegory of Fragility at Make Room Gallery in Los Angeles. The show presented fifteen works on paper, canvas, and wood, reflecting her exploration of memory and perception. The exhibition highlighted her ability to weave intricate narratives through visual art, emphasizing the delicate and often elusive nature of human experience.
Exhibition Dates
June 28– August 9, 2025
Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Saturday | 11 am – 6 pm
Artist
Youngmin Park
Venue
6361 Waring Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Contact
For more information, please visit:
https://www.makeroom.la/in-situ/youngmin-park/
About Gallery
Founded in 2018 by Emilia Yin, Make Room is a contemporary art gallery redefining the cultural landscape of Los Angeles with its visionary programming and commitment to elevating diverse artistic voices. The newly relocated 4500 square-foot gallery is situated at the heart of Hollywood, comprising multiple exhibition spaces with an outdoor courtyard and garden.
With its dynamic program–which includes both on-site solo and group exhibitions as well as ambitious off-site projects with international collaborators–and a particular focus championing female, emerging, and artists of color, Make Room has positioned itself as a cutting-edge incubator for emerging artists engaging with cultural identity, conceptual practices, and global perspectives. Not limited to a physical gallery, Make Room works to generate new possibilities and support its artists’ visionary projects and the development of new bodies of work.
Recognized for its groundbreaking exhibitions, Make Room has introduced the West Coast to influential artists like Terence Koh, Sun Woo, Andrew Sendor, Guimi You, Xin Liu, Jacopo Pagin, and Catalina Ouyang, earning acclaim from international collectors and institutions.
Make Room’s exhibitions have garnered widespread attention, with features in Artforum, Artnet News, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, the Financial Times, and more. In 2022, Emilia Yin was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30, highlighted as a new force in the contemporary art world.
Simultaneously, its relationships with established collectors and institutions both locally and internationally have resulted in placements in major private and public collections worldwide. These include the Orange County Museum of Art (California), the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), the Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio), the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Institute of Contemporary Art (Miami) in the United States. Internationally, the gallery’s represented artists have been featured in prestigious collections such as the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia), The Perimeter (London, UK), Yuz Museum (Shanghai), and the Pond Society (Shanghai, China). These relationships underscore the gallery’s role in elevating its artists to global prominence and fostering meaningful collaborations with top-tier institutions.
(text & photo courtesy of Make Room Gallery)
