"Dream File", Martin Gross's First Solo Exhibition in Korea.. and More
FOUNDRY SEOUL
"Dream File", Martin Gross's First Solo Exhibition in Korea
From July 21 to September 16, FOUNDRY SEOUL will present Dream File, the first solo exhibition of Martin Gross (b. 1984) in Korea.
Martin Gross works on online reality. He focuses on online phenomena and the information that flows online and soon builds our reality. He combines images, memes, texts, and advertisements into video work that is edited through cut-up and montage techniques. In the large-scale animation < Oh Sega Sunset > (2023), the artist’s handwritten phrases and lighthearted jokes are displayed in orange text on a black background, like advertising copy. He also creates paintings that mix pop images with text and other visual symbols, and this exhibition features 12 new paintings. Painting such as < Night Forest > (2023), < Grey Skies Turquoise Days > (2023), < Distant Lover > (2023) are reminiscent of our online screens, which are overloaded with information and patterns.
The title of the exhibition, ‘Dream File’, is a word used by sociologist and philosopher Ted Nelson to describe his concept of ‘hypertext’. Taking a cue from this, the exhibition suggests that Martin Gross’s work is akin to hypertext in that it allows the viewer to think non-linearly according to their own experiences and perspectives. So, through this exhibition, we can meta-examine our sensory systems to perceive today’s digital environment.
ThisWeekendRoom
Stories that Started with a Dog: The Exhibition "End of Summer"
From August 4 to September 9, ThisWeekendRoom will present End of Summer, a solo exhibition by Seounghee Lee (b. 1994).
Lee’s work is based on the bond between dogs and humans and explores the possibility of human-animal interaction and coexistence. The artist humorously twists the figure of the dog and tells stories through various medium such as painting, installation, and sculpture.
In this exhibition, the mythological and narrative elements of dogs in different cultures are used to create a surrealistic representation of dogs. Using various narratives such as tarot cards that predict the future, a wish-granting stone mortar, constellation myths, and Greek mythology, the artist intersects humans, gods, and animals on the screen. In < End of Summer >(2023), several mythological narratives such as Artemis and Actaeon are interwoven with the figure of dog. In the large, blue-tinged painting, the dog rides a unicorn in the center, while scenes reminiscent of mythology are recreated on either side of him, like scenes of a fantasy. In the three-dimensional work < Human, What are you Worry About? > (2023), a dog takes the form of a monk, and in < Dogtail Flower > (2023), a blue hand holds a foxtail, transforming the dog’s figure in a humorous and affectionate way.
As the artist says that she finds the story of the night sky in the scattered dog food, the exhibition draws the viewer into the world of the work with its intimate gaze.
Pluripotent Art Space
"1≥∞," an Exhibition that Searches for the Plausibility of Existence in the Vastness of Space
From August 4 to August 17, Pluripotent Art Space will present 1≥∞ (1 is greater than or equal to ∞), a solo exhibition by artist Sanghyun Koh.
Koh is an artist who has been exploring existence based on his interest in the universe. He deals with the components of the universe in his works and experiments with the gaps between things that are considered axiomatic mythology within the science.
This exhibition is an extension of this tendency, and it seems that the artist is trying to prove human existence in a logical way. < Blue Shift > (2021) depicts 91 constellation maps using the artist’s own discharges, such as hair, tears, and dust, as pigments. The artist juxtaposes his own process of creating discharges with the universe’s process of creating dust to reveal their similarities. The title of the work, ‘blueshift’, refers to the opposite of ‘redshift’, a phenomenon in which the wavelength of light shortens as it approaches a luminous object, making it appear blue. The blueshift in the work is interpreted as the opposite of cosmological redshift. In this case, we can say that the universe is shrinking to a single point, and the artist connects this context to the plausibility of existence by saying that the universe is converging on an individual.
In the exhibition, you will be able to join the artist on his journey as he explores these larger discourses of space and existence.
