'Heavy Sketchbook,' 'Identity' and other exhibitions to check out in Korea

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'Heavy Sketchbook,' 'Identity' and other exhibitions to check out in Korea

Published: 13 Dec. 2024, 15:38

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

″Nudo con Tigre″ (1988) by Lee Jong-bin [KEUMSAN GALLERY]

[Gallery Listing]

HEAVY SKETCHBOOK

Keumsan Gallery, DongSanBang Gallery
Through Dec. 25: Two separate galleries are holding a joint retrospective on the late sculptor Lee Jong-bin (1954-2018), displaying a total of 120 works comprised of sculptures and drawings.

Throughout his life, Lee drew countless drawings in sketchbooks, which would later develop into sculptures. Lee continuously experimented with materials and techniques to depict surreal and profound subjects, such as a tiger with empty white eyes, a modern-age Asian centaur and a group of isolated houses with chimney smoke shooting up into the sky.

The uncanniness behind Lee’s work was a philosophical outlet for the artist to question and contemplate reality and human existence.

The retrospective was pitched by Lee’s wife earlier this year to carry out his dying wish: to hold an exhibition displaying his drawings. Lee died at the age of 64 after a five-year battle with brain cancer.

Keumsan Gallery is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and until 6 p.m. on Saturdays. DongSanBang Gallery is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and until 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The exhibitions are free.

(02) 3789-6317 (Keumsan), (02) 733-5877 (DongSanBang)
keumsangallery.com, dongsanbanggallery.com

″Serenity 24-002-008″ by Sung Yeon-hwa [GALLERY JOEUN]

IDENTITY

Gallery Joeun
Through Jan. 4, 2025: Artist Sung Yeon-hwa is exhibiting 25 new works in this solo exhibition, comprised of large and small canvas pieces and installations. The 38-year-old artist, who majored in calligraphy in university, has mainly explored creative possibilities with hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper) and calligraphy.

The works on view are highlighted by the spontaneous brushstrokes that the artist immersed herself in during a short span of time.

Some other methods Sung employs involve rubbing on hanji with stones to create textures or burning the edges of hanji with incense and attaching the fragments onto the canvas.

She describes her work process as “meditative” and “impassive.”

The artist is known for her “Identity,” “Serenity” and “Flow” series, which are on view at the exhibition.

Gallery Joeun is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sundays and national holidays. The exhibition is free.

(02) 790-5889
galleryjoeun.com

″Aggregation15-JL038″ by Chun Kwang Young [GANA ART CENTER]

AGGREGATIONS: RESONANCE, IN-BETWEEN

Gana Art Center
Through Feb. 2, 2025: Chun Kwang Young is holding his first Korean solo exhibition in six years. The 80-year-old artist’s main medium is hanji, which are folded into triangular prism-shaped fragments of all sizes, a process that gives a nod to bojagi (traditional Korean wrapping cloth).

Chun then assembles the hanji fragments to build massive boulder-like sculptures or attaches them to the canvas to create rocky, cratered reliefs. These works are collectively called the “Aggregation” series.

On view are 20 pieces from his entire oeuvre, including those that were exhibited at his 2022 solo exhibition held on the sidelines of the 59th Venice Biennale and his 2001 Artist of the Year solo exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

An example from the Venice Biennale show was when Chun juxtaposed a dull, gray boulder-like sculpture alongside a lively red, spiky relief. They were initially arranged together in a dark room along with sounds of an irregular heartbeat coming from a hidden speaker, which Chun had recorded from a terminally ill patient in a hospital with permission.

The former piece, called “Aggregation 15-JL038” (2015), is back for this exhibition set in a similar setting, and Chun made sure to include the unstable pumping sounds, likening it to the situation of society today.

“The world is full of chaos and disorder, as shown in this dying heart. It’s like a warning,” he said, pointing to the sculpture at first.

“Regardless,” he continued, then pointing to the red relief beside it, “this shows that we still have hope for our future.”

Gana Art Center is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibition is free.

(02) 720-1020
ganaart.com

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]