Installation view of 《SCULPTURE CENTER 3/4》 ©PS ROY
PS ROY presents Gwon Osang’s solo
exhibition 《SCULPTURE CENTER 3/4》 through March 31. PS ROY is a project space operated by ROY Gallery,
dedicated to exhibition programs centered on sculpture and contemporary art,
with an emphasis on experimentation, innovation, and strong formal
individuality.
Across four exhibitions spanning a year at
PS ROY, Gwon Osang both revisits his hits and experiments new sculptural form
from ideas that had hitherto existed on the pages of his notebooks. In the
first exhibition, Gwon experimented with materiality through Torso
(The Sculpture 14)—a reconstruction of a Ducati motorcycle.
In the second exhibition, he explored the
flow of air surrounding the sculpture mediated by holes. The artist's gaze,
which once followed the surface of sculpture, now penetrates the outer shell
and turns inward.
Installation view of 《SCULPTURE CENTER 3/4》 ©PS ROY
In the third installment, Gwon fills the
ceiling and floor of PS ROY with 16 new works titled Sculptor’s
Lantern—sculptures that function as lighting fixtures, reinterpreted
by overlaying images of the universe and planets onto their outer shells.
Filling the interior of the sculptures with light, the artist constructs a
visual paradox of volume and mass formed by light as a constituent element of
the sculpture.
The light radiating from within becomes a
medium illuminating the exteriors of other sculptures, forming an organic
interplay where the sculptures expand into the space alongside the flow of
light. Through this endeavor, Gwon explores the realm of quotidian art by
experimenting with a form that traverses the boundaries between sculpture,
lighting, and object.
Installation view of 《SCULPTURE CENTER 3/4》 ©PS ROY
The images that form the lamps’ exterior
consist of photographs of the cosmos and planets. These works connect to the
work, Towards the Universe (After MOON SHIN), showcased in
the 2024 duo exhibition of Gwon and Moon Shin, 《Carving
in, Modeling out》, at Arario Gallery Seoul.
At the time, Gwon overlaid cosmic imagery
onto a structure modeled after sculptor Moon Shin's forms—offering a
contemporary reinterpretation of Moon’s artistic universe rooted in
explorations of nature and the cosmos. Within this context, the universe naturally
emerges as a central sculptural motif in Gwon’s practice.
Installation view of 《SCULPTURE CENTER 3/4》 ©PS ROY
To the side, two works titled
Relief Gwangmyeong are on view. These works were produced by
collecting images of architectural elements from the city and physically
reassembling them into new configurations. This process of recompositing
fragmented images into relief-like structures mirrors an architectural act and
as such highlights Gwon’s sustained inquiry into sculptural language situated
between flatness and three dimensionality—an examination grounded in his
long-standing engagement with photography as a planar medium.
Embracing a new year, the artist seeks to
illuminate the streets of Dosan with subtle light. Amidst a city saturated with
dazzling light decorations, sixteen luminous sculptures capturing Gwon’s
microcosm quietly shine as independent monuments. Their light softly diffuses
throughout the entire space and transforms PS ROY into a dreamlike reverie.
