[November 2022 Exhibitions]
BB&M, OBSCURA & Prompt Project Introduce Korean Artists Who Employ Innovative Methods of Expression
Galleries in Seoul are introducing Korean artists who have built their own artistic expression. BB&M presents a solo exhibition of Jeongsu Woo; OBSCURA showcases the works of Jung Ouk Hong; and Prompt Project features the works of Shin Hea Lim, Yoon Jong Ju, and Lee Jeong Bae.
BB&M (10, Seongbuk-ro, 23-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul)
JEONGSU WOO SOLO EXHIBITION, PALINDROME
November 5, 2022 – December 17, 2022
Until December 17, BB&M, located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, is presenting Palindrome, a solo exhibition of 15 new works by Jeongsu Woo (b. 1986). Woo deconstructs and reorganizes images from contemporary subcultures such as graffiti, cartoons, and speculative fiction, as well as juxtaposing iconic patterns and motifs from mythology, religion, philosophy, and paintings.
A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same forward and backward, such as “mom” and “dad.” In Greek mythology, Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection. Woo uses the concept of a palindrome and the story of Narcissus to reflect contemporary society’s obsession with the self, where we constantly chase the illusion of ourselves. Motifs of Narcissus and daffodils can be found frequently. The daffodil is a flower that grows along the banks of streams and rivers, where Narcissus met his tragic end.
The circulation is also revealed in the repeating decorative patterns that serve as backgrounds in Woo’s paintings. These floral motifs mimic high-end interior designs and are frequently used as wallpaper in low-cost entertainment venues such as karaoke and accommodations in Korea. The patterns reflect the illusory aspirations of the middle class for the upper social strata, which seems like an unsubstantial aspiration.
Jeongsu Woo has held solo exhibitions at Doosan Gallery (Seoul and New York, 2020), Kumho Museum of Art (Seoul, 2018), and OCI Museum of Art (Seoul, 2016). Woo’s works have been featured in group exhibitions at Culture Station Seoul 284 (Seoul, 2022), the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon, 2021), the Ilmin Museum of Art (Seoul, 2021), the Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, 2019), the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Cheongju, 2019), the Gwangju Biennale (Gwangju, 2018), and the Asian Culture Center (Gwangju, 2018). Woo’s works are in the collections of the Kumho Museum of Art (Seoul), Mimesis Art Museum (Paju), Doosan Art Center (Seoul), and Blackstone Group (Seoul/New York).
OBSCURA (164, Seongbuk-ro 23-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul)
October 28, 2022 – November 20, 2022
Reservation only
OBSCURA, located in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, is showcasing around twenty new works by Jung Ouk Hong (b. 1976) under the title ENTITY. Hong’s works expand the painting’s basic form and structure in three dimensions. In ENTITY, Hong has experimented with various materials to create a more complex structure in the artworks.
Paintings are known to be flat and square and drawn on canvases. Attempting to challenge the inherent nature of painting and subvert its existing form through various experiments, Hong has been working on creating relief-type works using various materials, including wood, wire, and glass, on canvases of various shapes, such as triangles, pentagons, octagons, and circles. Hong also reinterprets painting in a three-dimensional structure that can stand independently away from the wall.
Acrylic color and magnet on birch structure, pinewood structure and shaped canvas, 60 x 60 x 60 cm.
Jung Ouk Hong has held over eleven solo exhibitions, including those at Leean Gallery (Seoul, 2019), Kim Chong Yung Museum (Seoul, 2013), and Gallery Lux (Seoul, 2003). Hong has participated in various group exhibitions at home and abroad, such as those at Ilwoo Space (Seoul, 2020), Gyeonggi Museum of Art (Ansan, 2017), OCI Museum of Art (Seoul, 2017), Hanmi Gallery (Seoul, 2015), and Seoul National University Museum of Art (Seoul, 2013). Major awards include the Kim Chong Yung Museum Award (Seoul, 2013), the Guasch Coranty International Painting Prize 2010 (finalist, Barcelona), New Contemporaries 2009 (finalist, London), and the 4th SongEun Art Award (Seoul, 2004).
Prompt Project (28 Gaepo-ro 17-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
October 20, 2022 – November 20, 2022
Until November 20, Prompt Project is holding a three-person exhibition, HIDDEN TIMES, HIDDEN LAYERS, by artists Shin Hea Lim, Yoon Jong Ju, and Lee Jeong Bae. Each artist has spent considerable time experimenting with the essential formative elements of line, color plane, and object.
Shin Hea Lim experiments with lines, Yoon Jong Ju with the color plane, and Lee Jeong Bae interprets Korean landscape paintings through three-dimensional works. HIDDEN TIMES, HIDDEN LAYERS focuses on the fact that the three artists have developed their distinctive ways of expression through consistent and repetitive work.
Shin Hea Lim (b. 1971), who majored in art craft, makes the concept of “line” the central theme of her artworks. Shin completes her work through a labor-intensive practice involving craft techniques and everyday materials. Shin used threads that were continuously wound and stacked on steel sticks, which she then gathered on a single frame. The process of repetitive actions shows temporality, while the winding practice shows flow and circulation.
Yoon Jong Ju’s (b. 1971) works are composed of color planes. Instead of using a brush, liquid paint is poured onto the canvas to create the colored surface. By layering multiple colors over time, the color screen creates a deep surface with a soft, smooth, yet subtle glow. Similar to the strata formed by the accumulation of various soils over an extended period of time, the layered hues represent the passage of time.
Lee Jeong Bae (b.1974) is an artist who unravels Korean landscape paintings in three dimensions. The artist focuses on privatized natural landscapes, separated from nature by human desire in urban settings. The fragmented natural landscape is expressed in new colors and shapes through hundreds of painting processes. This three-dimensional urban landscape is presented as a new landscape painting with geometric shapes and simple colors.
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