2011.4.28 MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

2ND CHAPTER OF POST-COLONIALISM

PKM Trinity Gallery, Cheongdam-dong

To May 14: This is a solo exhibition of Korean conceptual artist Cody Choi.

The artist was born in Seoul in 1961 and immigrated to the United States in 1983 while he was in college. After studying design and fine arts at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Choi went on to exhibit his work in solo exhibitions in Seoul and Beijing and in group exhibitions in New York and around the world. He currently resides in both Seoul and New York.

As an expat who has spent around 20 years in the States, Choi’s search for identity dominates his work.

The exhibition features artworks that revolve around Koreans and Korean culture as seen through the eyes of Choi, who is presented as a “dual stranger” in the sense that he has been estranged from his country after many years abroad.

Through his artworks, Choi emphasizes that the standard of beauty in Korea has been Westernized, calling it “The Gift.”

His works point to the idea that beauty is the fabricated concept of a counterfeit culture.

In this way, the exhibition is a self-portrait of Korean culture from the perspective of a marginal man.

The gallery is open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
To get to the gallery, go to Apgujeong Station, line No. 3, exit 2. The gallery is located in the Trinity Place building, which is across the street from the Galleria Department Store’s east wing in Cheongdam-dong.
(02) 515-9496 or visit www.pkmgallery.com

THE SEOUL ART EXHIBITION 2011

Seoul Museum of Art, Seosomun-dong

To June 19: This year’s edition of the annual Seoul Art Exhibition is devoted to hyper-realism and painting, and many of the artworks on display look so real that passersby may even mistake them as photographs.

In Ju Tae-seok’s “Rail-road,” the position of the stones and the texture of the railroad look just like a real snapshot of the scene. “Tree” by Choi Sug-woo lures viewers into thinking they are hearing the sound of the wind blowing among trees.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
City Hall Station, lines No. 1 and 2, exit 1
(02) 2124-8981, http://seoulmoa.seoul.go.kr

EMBEDDING TIME

Gallery Hyundai Gangnam, Sinsa-dong

To May 15: This is a solo exhibition of artist Kim Duck-yong, whose work showcases the beauty of Korea through the use of wood, which he sees as a material abundant in the vitality of nature.

The exhibition features around 50 artworks portraying tranquil landscapes and friendly-looking figures, conjuring warmth and sentimentality.

The artist said that memory is a destined symbol and he projects this symbol onto the wood while also interacting with the material.

Books also play an important role in Kim’s works.

Though the books in Kim has created cannot be open and read, the titles and pictures on the covers allow viewers to guess what they are about.

As the books primarily revolve around the subjects of “art” and “mother,” they are linked to the invaluable memories and identity of the artist.

The gallery is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Apgujeong Station, line No. 3, exit 2
(02) 519-0800, www.galleryhyundai.com

KIM CHONG-HAK RETROSPECTIVE

National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Makgye-dong

To June 26: This retrospective of artist Kim Chong-hak will show 90 landscape paintings by Kim, ranging from experimental works done in the 50s to works about Mount Seorak from the late 70s and more recent works.

Kim, who began working as an artist in the 1950s, is known as an artist who advocated for representational painting amidst the fever for abstract painting after the establishment of contemporary art in Korea.

For three decades since 1979, the artist has lived in a secluded part of Mount Seorak in order to capture the environment at its best.

The artist, inspired by the vitality of nature, paints subjects like flowers, grass, birds and butterflies.

Through his rapid, bold brushwork, he imbues the canvas with an intrepid energy.

The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Seoul Grand Park Station, line No. 4, exit 4
(02) 2188-6000, www.moca.go.kr

*Information is culled from the galleries and other online sources.