Osang Gwon presents a collaborative 'Labour' of love

Arts & Design

Published: 28 Feb. 2022, 15:01

Osang Gwon presents a collaborative 'Labour' of love

"The Sculpture 3" (2005-15), by Osang Gwon [SUWON MUSEUM OF ART]

Photography meets sculptures, then meets spatial design in “Our Set: Ourlabour X Osang Gwon.”

This collaborative exhibition by local creative studio Our Labour and 48-year-old artist Osang Gwon is being held at the Suwon Art Space Gwanggyo, which is one of the branches of the Suwon Museum of Art (SUMA) in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

Our Labour works in various fields like sculpture, installation, graphic design and spatial design. It has previously taken on major projects in exhibitions including HYBE Insight, a museum operated by the K-pop powerhouse, and the House of Dior in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

"New Structure of Sculpture - A Trip To Another Joyful Place 1" (2020) by Osang Gwon [SUWON MUSEUM OF ART]

Gwon is one of Korea’s most important sculptors — his use of photography and sculptures, which he morphs into one whole piece, is what makes his artworks stand out. In 2015 he collaborated with G-Dragon, a member of the legendary boy band Big Bang, for the singer’s exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art.

In “Our Set,” Gwon’s sculptures, mobiles and collages on display have a stronger presence than usual with the help of Our Labour, which was responsible for the spatial designs for each piece, such as the lighting and backgrounds.

“Our Set” is divided into nine parts: Sets 1 to 9. Kwon showcases “Deodorant Type,” “The Flat,” “The Sculpture,” “New Structure,” “Relief” and “Mobile” in separate sections, all of which are the names of his series of artworks.

“Reclining Figure 1” (2020) by Osang Gwon [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Set 1 is depicted like a motor show, with sculptures of two supercars, a Ferrari and a Bugatti. Gwon started working on these life-size cars, as part of his “The Sculpture” series in 2005, and it took him about 10 to 15 years to complete them. They are made from stone clay and coated with epoxy, Gwon explained during a press conference last week.

Up close the cars have a bumpy surface with Gwon’s handprints, but from afar the cars seem like the real deal as they were made with such precision. Our Labour added arrow-shaped lighting atop each car, to make it look “like the car is actually running.”

Set 2 proceeds into a room filled with sculptures from the “Deodorant Type” series, which are snippets of photographs pasted onto a molding of a subject, like a cat, the Roman god Neptune and cheese boxes.

Our Labour used cosmetic lights, usually used in dressing rooms, for a warmer and softer atmosphere.

An overview of Set 2 [SUWON MUSEUM OF ART]

The same goes for Set 3, which continues the “Deodorant Type” series, except this time the sculptures are posing while lying down like models at a photo shoot. They are placed on Isopink, a type of compressed Styrofoam, under lighting that is typically used in studios or for filming. There are two types of sculptures: ones that closely resemble the figure of an actual person and ones that are far less realistic.

“Reclining Figure 1” (2020), a blobby, bulky human figure that features the multiple facets of a supermodel’s face, is one example. For these pieces, Gwon researched the human body from works including those of English artist Henry Moore (1898-1986), who is best known for this semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures.

Gwon revealed that his method of posting 2-D photographs onto 3-D sculptures comes with the help of photographs he found on the Internet like pandas or penguins. He also took inspiration from American sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976) for Gwon’s mobile piece “Red Shirt and Whistle, Calder’s Circus.” (2018).

"2009, December" (2009) by Osang Gwon [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Another one of Gwon’s series of artworks “The Flat” is shown in Set 6. Gwon’s view on sculptures is that anything can be one as long as it can stand alone and takes up space, even if it's just a small piece of paper.

The 8-meter-40-centimeters-long (27.5 feet) “The Flat 16, 17, 18” (2006) seems like a collage at first glance, but it was actually made from cutting out images of jewelry and watches in magazines and erecting each one on a wire, and finally taking an enormous picture of the items, clustered altogether.

While the two supercars in Set 1 are life-sized, the 99 model cars in Set 8 are the size of the palm of your hand. Neatly organized to be placed inside an oval-shaped glass structure, the entire piece is reminiscent of a car display tower.

One of the 99 model cars in Set 8 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

All 99 of the model cars were created by Gwon from resin and acrylic paint, and are homages to the cars that compete in 24 Hours of Le Mans, a sports car race held annually in Le Mans, France.

“Our Set: Ourlabour X Osang Gwon” ends May 22. The Suwon Art Space Gwanggyo is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exhibition is free to all. For more information, visit the Suwon Museum of Art’s website (suma.suwon.go.kr)

BYSHINMIN-HEE[shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]