Installation view of 《Seoul Syntax》 ©PKM Gallery
PKM Gallery is pleased to present 《Seoul Syntax》, a solo exhibition by
multidisciplinary artist Bek Hyunjin, on view through March 21 at the annex. As
an artist, musician, and actor, Bek has cultivated a diverse and
boundary-defying practice. The exhibition brings together recent jangji
(traditional Korean mulberry paper) paintings, drawings, and video set against
the backdrop of Seoul, the city where the artist was born and raised.
Bek has spent his life navigating the
gallery, the stage, and the screen, with Seoul serving as his home base.
Embracing his own evolution alongside the city’s metamorphosis, Bek began
several years ago to leave traces of his experiences and feelings.
Installation view of 《Seoul Syntax》 ©PKM Gallery
The works in 《Seoul
Syntax》 are the visual results of this process.
Notably, this exhibition shares a thematic pulse with his 2025 album, “Seoul Syntax”. While the album recorded Seoul as ‘the audible’
through his technique, senses, and heart, the works in this exhibition document
the city as ‘the visible.’
The paintings and drawings in 《Seoul Syntax》 exemplify Bek's refined formal
language—one that achieves fullness through a process of emptying. Through his
own unique syntax, Bek filters the complexities of contemporary Seoul—a place
where stability and precariousness, intimacy and alienation, and triumph and
failure coexist in a delicate balance.
Installation view of 《Seoul Syntax》 ©PKM Gallery
Screening alongside these works is
Light 23, a multidisciplinary piece that functions as a
video work, music video, and short film. Filmed in a single take on the
outskirts of Seoul at sunset, the video romantically captures the shifting
weather and the full spectrum of human emotions.
The work expands the static imagery of his
paintings into a temporal, cinematic narrative. By unfolding Bek’s multifaceted
vision of Seoul like a panorama, the exhibition offers an immersive engagement
with the artist’s deep-seated connection to the city.
