L'Oréal Korea, led by CEO Rodrigo Pizarro, is hosting an exhibition featuring the works of six award recipients from this year's Create Your Beauty art contest for artists with developmental disabilities.
The exhibition aims to introduce the award-winning artists’ artworks to a wider audience, highlighting the unique perspectives and diverse artistic expressions of artists with developmental disabilities. It is being held at the Art Space No gallery in Bukchon and will run until September 30, excluding Sundays, with free admission available daily from 11 AM to 6 PM.
The Create Your Beauty contest, held biennially since 2022, is in its third iteration this year, themed 'The Beauty I Discovered'. A total of 672 artists with developmental disabilities participated, the highest number to date. The artworks reflect their individual perceptions of beauty, drawn from themes of daily life, nature, and relationships. Six finalists were selected through two rounds of judging, with the winning piece chosen by votes from L'Oréal Korea employees and expert evaluation.
The grand prize-winning artist, Lim Seong-hyun, created the piece 'Animals Living in Ilwol Obongdo are Happy', inspired by a visit to the National Museum of Korea. The artwork uniquely expresses a warm vision for all animals living on Earth through vibrant colors and composition, and it will be utilized in future packaging designs for L'Oréal Korea's e-commerce products.
The exhibition will also showcase a range of award-winning pieces that reflect the diverse notions of beauty discovered within daily life, nature, relationships, and imagination. 'Walking on the Flower Path' by Noh Heon-jun symbolically represents hope and growth through intertwined feet. 'The Beauty Found by the Black Cat and the Cutie' by Ko Hyun-jun captures the curious journey of two cats discovering new experiences. Byun Ye-sol's 'Me + You = Beautiful Us' illustrates the beauty of being together as different individuals, while Lee Da-rae's 'Tigers Like Flowers' expresses a pure heart for nature and animals through a tiger's affection for flowers. Lastly, Cheon Soo-min's 'Cat in Wonderland' merges reality and imagination in a free-spirited world.
The exhibition will feature a total of 11 artworks, including six award-winning pieces and representative works that showcase the individual qualities and artistic worlds of each artist.
Soo-Jihye So, Group Public Relations Manager at L'Oréal Korea, commented, "This exhibition is meaningful in that we can showcase the works of award-winning artists to more individuals. We will continue to support artists with developmental disabilities to express their creativity and individuality and to share their unique beauty and stories with a broader audience."
