Information
Jade Jwa is a Korean-born visual artist based in Los Angeles whose work examines identity through the lenses of memory, family, and multicultural experience. After a twelve-year career as a tax accountant in Seoul and Los Angeles, she returned to her early passion for painting and has since developed a practice rooted in careful observation, emotional nuance, and material sensitivity.
Working primarily in oil, Jade creates figurative paintings that explore how personal history and cultural context shape one’s sense of self over time. Her practice also includes hanji, Korean traditional pigments, and materials such as fabric, wood, and mother-of-pearl, which she incorporates when their textures or cultural resonances deepen the narrative of a piece. As a mother of three daughters, she draws inspiration from the evolving dynamics of family life and the subtle ways shared experiences accumulate meaning.
Her work balances discipline and intuition, drawing on both Eastern and Western sensibilities without wholly belonging to either. She studied graphic design and studio art in California and continues to deepen her practice through independent study and the art classes in various colleges.
My work explores the shifting and multilayered nature of identity, shaped by memory, family, and the experience of living between cultures. Having lived in both South Korea and the United States, I often reflect on how memories evolve —how certain moments sharpen while others soften—and how these quiet transformations influence my understanding of who I am. This interplay between past and present forms the emotional architecture of my practice.
Oil painting is the foundation of my work, not only for its richness and depth but also for the way it allows time to enter the surface. I work with intention and care, building harmony and balance across the painting while allowing subtle evidence of the process to remain. The surface becomes a place where gesture, revision, hesitation, and clarity coexist. Each painting is a slow accumulation of decisions, mirroring the gradual shaping of memory and identity over the years.
Although oil is central to my practice, I continue to engage with hanji, Korean traditional pigments, and other materials such as fabric, wood, and mother-of-pearl. These materials carry cultural weight and sensory distinctiveness that influence the emotional atmosphere of a piece. I bring them in when they expand or enrich the narrative—when their texture, history, or symbolism deepens the story I want to tell. Rather than treating them as separate from my oil work, I see them as additional languages within my artistic vocabulary, available to support future projects when the concept calls for them.
Family is an essential part of my work, especially the way family relationships transform over time. As a mother of three daughters, I often think about how daily moments—routine, intimate, or fleeting—gather meaning as they accumulate. These small moments become a form of inheritance, shaping identity in ways that reveal themselves gradually. My paintings reflect this sensibility: they hold quiet emotional spaces where tenderness, distance, longing, and connection can coexist. Family, for me, is less a fixed idea than an evolving landscape shaped by time, memory, and the people who move through our lives.
Living between Korean and American cultures adds another dimension to my work. I am continually navigating the invisible boundaries between languages, customs, and expectations. This multicultural perspective informs how I construct images, choose materials, and build atmosphere. Rather than depicting culture directly, I approach it through emotional tone—through stillness, tension, softness, or the feeling of being slightly out of place. These states reflect the complexity of belonging to more than one world.
Ultimately, my practice is a study of how identity is formed through lived experience. Memory, cultural history, motherhood, and the quiet passage of time all play roles in shaping the emotional logic of my paintings. Through layered figurative imagery and a thoughtful use of materials, I aim to create works that invite viewers to reflect on their own sense of belonging, origin, and transformation. My paintings are not declarations but contemplations—places where the inner life becomes visible.
Education
Certificate in 2D Studio Art, Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA
Certificate in Graphic Design, Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA, 2023
Certificate in Taxation, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA, 2009
MS in Accountancy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, 2005
BA in French Language and Literature at Seoul National University, South Korea, 2003
Previous Career
Senior Tax Analyst, Latham & Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA, 2009-2019
Tax Analyst, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Beverly Hills, CA, 2007-2009
Junior Accountant, Samsung SDI, Inc., Seoul, South Korea, 2003-2004
Group Exhibition
The Spaces Between, The Art Gallery at GCC, Dec. 17, 2024 - Feb. 2, 2025