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| Kim Yong-ik's "Untitled" (1990) is on display at the Tina Kim Gallery in New York. / Courtesy of TIna Kim Gallery |
Kim Yong-ik, Chun Kwang-young hold exhibits in New York, Brussels
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Two established Korean artists, Kim Yong-ik and Chun Kwang-young, are holding solo exhibitions overseas, showcasing contemporary Korean art rooted in the nation's turbulent modern history.
Kim's works are on view at the Tina Kim Gallery in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. This is the artist's first solo exhibit in the United States as Kim mainly worked domestically in the past.
Kim maintained an independent stance amid Korea's eventful art scene as it transitioned from modernism in the 1970s to conceptual art and Minjung art (political and populist art movement) in the '80s. Instead of following the trend, Kim explored the fundamentals of art, questioning the relationship between the avant-garde and society.
The New York exhibit centers on three major periods _ his Plane Object series of fabric works from the '70s, his geometric compositions from the '80s and his dot paintings from the '90s. As an artist Kim continuously challenges himself and he reappraised his signature dot paintings he made in the 2000s.
The exhibition garnered positive responses from critics and collectors in the U.S., granting the artist a solid presence.
"Following his first solo exhibition in the U.S., the gallery has received strong interest in Kim Yong-ik from major U.S. institutions and his work has recently been acquired by such institutions as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art," Tina Kim, the gallery owner said.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the gallery and the Asia Art Archive hosted an artist talk event that focused on Art Space Pool, a non-profit art organization in Seoul that was co-founded by Kim Yong-ik and other artists, curators, and critics in 1999.
"The event provided a great opportunity for the audience to learn more about the Korean art scene in the 1980s and '90s and the importance of non-profit sites that helped promote Korean artists at the time," Kim added.
The New York exhibit runs through June 17. For more information, visit www.tinakimgallery.com.
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| Chun Kwang Young's "Aggregation17-FE018" (2017) is on display at the Boghossian Foundation's Villa Empain in Brussels, Belgium. / Courtesy of the artist and Boghossian Foundation |
Chun's paper sculpture hits Belgian museum
Chun Kwang-young, known for his "Aggregation" series, has been invited to the Boghossian Foundation's Villa Empain in Brussels, Belgium.
Curated by Villa Empain's art director Asad Raza, the exhibit features 14 of Chun's works installed throughout the villa, which was restored by the foundation in 2010. The retrospective covers Chun's works from 1989 and showcases how the artist moved from traditional painting to the assemblage of hanji pieces.
The "Aggregation" consists of triangle-shaped polystyrene pieces wrapped in "hanji," or Korean traditional mulberry paper, mounted on canvases. Inspired by paper packets for Oriental medicine, Chun unraveled his thoughts on the Korean identity through the hanji triangles and explores the issue of the whole versus the individual.
The highlight of the exhibit is the "Aggregation17-FE018," a new sculpture Chun created for this exhibit, installed against the backdrop of the villa's pool. This is Chun's first outdoor display and the artist maintained the characteristics of hanji while making it durable to endure weather conditions.
"This is the first solo exhibition presented by the Boghossian Foundation, though the foundation organized various group exhibitions bridging the East and West since 1992. Chun's exhibit will be a threshold for Korean contemporary art in Europe," an official of PKM Gallery, which represents the artist, said.
The exhibit runs through Aug. 27. For more information, visit www.villaempain.com.
