Seonna Hong (born 1973) is an American

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

artist, who works in fine art and

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. Her paintings have appeared in exhibitions in Los Angeles,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. She is

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

–based.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Southern California, Hong is the daughter of parents who immigrated from Korea. Her father was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. As a child, Hong enjoyed drawing cartoon characters like

Hello Kitty , also known by her real name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red ...

and

Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * Strawberry Shortcake, a cartoon character and franchise created by American Greetings ** Strawberry Shortcake (TV series), ''Strawberry Sho ...

. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with a degree in general art. After graduation, she worked as a teacher.

Career

Animation

Her work as a background painter has appeared in animated series and films, most notably in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

series, ''

My Life as a Teenage Robot ''My Life as a Teenage Robot'' is an American animated science fiction superhero comedy television series created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. It was produced by Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Set in the fictional to ...

'', for which she received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

in 2003. She worked on ''

The Mighty B! ''The Mighty B!'' (stylized in all caps) is an American animated television series created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes ...

'' as an art director and background painter from 2008 to 2011.

Fine art

Hong's inspirations include "the abstract paintings of

Helen Frankenthaler Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (; 14 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist born to Jewish parents, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in the Russian Empire, now Ukraine, and was formally trained in Russia and Germany, be ...

’s vivid use of colors and patterns, and Jackson Pollack’s drip and expressive techniques." She is known for her surreal landscape paintings, which often include small human and animal figures. Her work has frequently been featured in art magazine ''

Juxtapoz ''Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine'' (pronounced ''JUX-tah-pose'') is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III (a.k.a. Craig Stecyk), Greg Escalante, and Eric ...

''. In 2004 h er first solo show took place in New York at the Oliver Kamm/5BE Gallery, where she exhibited illustrations for her future children's book, ''Animus''. She received the

Joan Mitchell Foundation Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

grant in 2006. In 2008, Japanese artist

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial media (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between High art, high and low arts. His wo ...

picked her as the first American artist to have a solo show at the

KaiKai Kiki is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial media (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between High art, high and low arts. His wo ...

gallery in Japan. She has since had solo shows at LaBasse Projects in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

Jonathan Levine Gallery Jonathan A. Levine ( ; born June 18, 1976) is an American film director and screenwriter. Early life and education Levine was born and raised in New York City to a Jewish family. He attended St. Bernard's School, in Manhattan, and Phillips A ...

in New York, and three at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco. In 2020, actress

Lily Collins Lily Jane Collins (born 18 March 1989) is an English and American actress. Born in Guildford and raised in Los Angeles, she began performing on screen at the age of two in the BBC sitcom ''Growing Pains''. In the late 2000s, she began acting a ...

mentioned she collects Hong's artwork. Seonna Hong had a solo show, Murmurations, at NYC Hashimoto Contemporary 2023. Hong's fifth solo exhibition at Hashimoto Contemporary.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Seonna Living people Painters from California 21st-century American women painters 1973 births California State University, Long Beach alumni American artists of Korean descent 21st-century American painters