“Don’t Walk”: Jay Chung Selected for Editorial Feature at Metropolitan Melodies 2025

The urban landscape is full of signs — messages that flash, blink, direct, or pause us. In Don’t Walk, artist Jay Chung takes one of these everyday cues and turns it into a moment of stillness and reflection.

Painted in acrylic on aluminum, the work captures the familiar pedestrian sign and reimagines it through bold colors and a highly reflective surface, inviting viewers to consider not just the message, but the material itself.

Don’t Walk was selected as one of the Editorial Highlights of the 2025 edition of Metropolitan Melodies, a competition celebrating the diverse visual language of city life. This distinction is reserved for artists whose submissions demonstrate a particularly strong conceptual and aesthetic vision.

A Graphic Designer’s Eye, A Painter’s Heart

Born in Korea and now based in the United States, Jay Chung holds two master’s degrees from Pratt Institute in New York — in Communication Design and Computer Graphic Design. His professional background deeply informs his painting style: simplified forms, strong color contrast, and a refined visual structure grounded in design principles.

His medium of choice is often mixed media, incorporating acrylic, enamel, and most notably, epoxy resin — a material he has explored for over a decade for its luminous, layered, and vibrant qualities. Across his body of work, Chung gravitates toward themes of nature, human connection, and harmony, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens that merges abstraction and familiarity.

Exhibitions & Recognition

Over the past decade, Chung’s work has been shown in major art fairs and exhibitions across the globe — including Artexpo New York, Miami Art Week, KIAF, Frieze Seoul, Focus Art Fair (New York & London), and the Affordable Art Fair. His solo shows include exhibitions at Riverside Gallery (NJ) and Insa Gallery in Seoul.

He has received several accolades, including “Spotlight Artist” and “Best Exhibitor” at Artexpo New York, and has been commissioned by prestigious institutions such as the St. Regis Hotel and the JFK First Class Lounge, with ongoing projects reflecting his growing demand among collectors and designers alike. In July 2025, Chung participated in the Summer City Idyll group exhibition at AGI Fine Art, where his work stood out for its vibrant palette and emotional immediacy.

A Voice That Resonates

Chung’s selection for Metropolitan Melodies confirms the strength and distinctiveness of his artistic voice — one that draws viewers into quiet emotional spaces, even amidst the visual noise of contemporary life. Don’t Walk may borrow its title from city signage, but in Jay Chung’s hands, it becomes something else entirely: an invitation to pause, reflect, and see with new eyes.

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