An artist and wife of a Swiss diplomat in Seoul held an exhibition over the weekend at the Swiss Embassy, showcasing watercolors that combined Oriental and Western influences.

Ajean Mazzucchelli is the wife of Claudio Mazzucchelli, the head of Swiss Business Hub Korea. Ajean met her husband 30 years ago in Korea while working as a clerk at a U.S. Air Force Hospital, and they married in 1986.

They have since lived in the former Soviet Union, U.S., Egypt, China, Switzerland and the U.K., during which time Ajean developed her own artistic style. 

Her works incorporate nature, animals and landscape that characteristically resemble traditional Asian art, while infusing Western colors and motifs.

She has exhibited her works at the Japan Airlines Lounge at Heathrow Airport, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and art galleries in the U.K. between 2004 and 2007, and at the 798 Art District in Beijing in 2012.

“I made a great deal of extra efforts to perfect my work in all places I have visited,” Ajean told The Korea Herald in an interview. “Although my nationality is Swiss, as I had to renounce my Korean citizenship when I married my husband, I always introduce myself as ‘Made in Korea’ wherever I go.”

Each of her works takes up to three months to complete, as she has to put on 7 to 10 layers of paint, she said. In recent years, she has focused on modern Western landscape using Oriental techniques.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)