[FINE ARTS] SMoFA (Solti Museum of Fine Arts) - Calligraphy: Love of the Ancient

Young Choi, Regent University

Artist Statement — 好古 (Love of the Ancient)

This work, titled 好古, emerges from a lifelong engagement with the spirit of tradition—not as something fixed in the past, but as a living current that continues to flow through the present. The two characters, meaning “to love the ancient,” are rendered not in rigid form but through a liberated, gestural brush language that seeks to awaken rather than replicate the past.

Inspired by the classical ideal expressed by Confucius—“to transmit rather than to create, to trust and love the ancient”—this piece does not attempt to imitate historical calligraphy. Instead, it engages in a dialogue with it. The brush moves swiftly, at times dry and fractured, at times full and resonant, embodying the tension between discipline and spontaneity. Each stroke carries the memory of tradition while simultaneously asserting the immediacy of the present moment.

The circular and sweeping forms suggest continuity and return, echoing the cyclical nature of cultural inheritance. The composition resists static balance, favoring dynamic asymmetry, as if the energy of the past were still unfolding. The generous negative space is not emptiness, but a field of quiet resonance—an invitation for contemplation.

好古, in this context, is not nostalgia. It is an active, intellectual, and creative stance: to encounter the past with reverence, yet to reanimate it through one’s own lived experience. The work asks: How do we inherit tradition without being confined by it? How do we allow the past to breathe within the present?

Ultimately, this piece is an attempt to capture a single breath—where history, gesture, and spirit converge into one continuous movement. +++

{Solti}

May 2, 2026

Young Choi, PhD is a Professor at Regent University bringing a rare combination of technical expertise and creative spirit to everything he does. A scholar in AI, cybersecurity, and network & telecommunications service management, he has published 38 books including AI and cybersecurity area books, over 200 refereed articles, and over 20 book chapters. Beyond the academy, Dr. Choi is a passionate poet, essayist, and wooden block engraving artist whose reflective writing invites readers to rediscover life’s beauty in quiet contemplation(靜觀). He lives under the motto: “Study hard and give generously without holding back! (열심히 공부해서 아낌없이 남주자 !)”

Published books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Young-Choi/author/B0DMZ5S6R7?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true