Crossing Over (2013)
Charcoal and oil on canvas

Crossing Over brings together fragments of the artist’s family: the central figure is a portrait of his mother when she was pregnant with him; her hands belong to his daughter; the outstretched arms to the artist and his wife; and their son dances in the background. These figures are set against scenes of Korea and the family graves. What begins as an intimate portrait unfolds into something larger when expressed as a crucifix composition.

Here, the personal becomes communal. The faces and gestures of kin become signs of the wider family of God bound not by blood alone, but by grace. In these layered marks, the artist gestures toward the mystery of redemption: how grief and joy, past and present, the individual and the collective, are knit together in Christ.

Within this cruciform scene, viewers are invited to recognize themselves as part of the same tapestry. We, too, are woven into the story of grace, held within a family remade by love and resurrection. As you move along the panels of this triptych, notice how the mother’s gaze and body seem to follow you. The boundaries between viewer and subject are stitched together, gathering you into the shared space of the work.