Leeum to open exhibit on Aug. 26

By Ines Min

The Leeum Samsung Museum of Art opens its first exhibition in two-and-a-half years, Thursday.

``Memories of the Future’’ delves straight into an analysis of the art scene’s outlook, showcasing 11 domestic and international artists to tackle definitions of reality, truth and ephemeral nature in 58 works.

``As we prepared our first exhibition in over two years, we made an effort to find the direction of contemporary art today,’’ said Hong Ra-young, the museum’s deputy director, at a press preview Tuesday.

``We also wanted to actively communicate with visitors,’’ she added, referring to the multi-genre, interactive nature of the exhibition. ``So that difficult works can be more easily understood.’’

The show does take a strong stand, refusing to shy away from abstract artists including Sophie Calle ― noted for her hauntingly intimate conceptual art, referencing the French literary movement Oulipo ― and Sasa [44], who scrutinizes everything from actions to data (a representative piece includes an isosceles triangle featuring the Korean proverb: ``A tiger dies and leaves behind leather”).

Dirk Fleischmann, a German artist living and working in Seoul, is also featuring his work, which examines the various mediums of information intake by presenting ``My Forest Farm.’’

``It’s a business idea based on an artistic concept,’’ said Fleishmann, who often uses micro-business models as a commentary on globalization and profit-making. The farm was purchased in an effort to offset carbon emissions, but the inherent problems lies in whether or not each tree exists, and how it is perceived by others.

``Only 20 people have ever seen the farm,’’ he explained, adding that it’s all based on visual representation. At the exhibition, visitors can actually click on every individual fruit tree and purchase a media ``image’’ of the young saplings.

The exhibition continues in and throughout the main building, with winding text-based murals gracing the glass walls (compliments of Hong Kong artist Tsang Kin-wah), which can also be personalized in a smaller, video projection where individuals type new messages into a computer. Japan’s Michael Lin provided exquisite, hand-painted installations inside the cafe and across the floor of the show’s entrance.

Shin Mee-kyoung’s intricate sculptures in soap ― recreating ancient Asian and Western sculptures ― are also on display, atop wooden crates as if in the middle of being unpacked, as well as in bathrooms for actual use.

``Shin proposes an objection to the notions of original and of an artwork as a unique creation,’’ organizers said. ``Her objects transform into completely different works that possess `translated’ originality through reinterpretation and recontextualization.’’

Other works to look out for include life-size figures by Korean Gwon O-sang, who layers thousands of pictures onto sculptures in order to recreate a visually stunning representation of humans. Straddling the line of photography and three-dimensional art, elusive illusion and concrete reality, viewers are made to recalibrate their own perspectives.

The exhibition is strong in its works, evincing the powerful connections of the museum by garnering several internationally well-known artists to comprise its long-awaited comeback show.

Demonstrating a sense of self-awareness of its own situation ― the museum unfortunately was shut down to rotating exhibits following a corporate scandal within Samsung ― ``Memories of the Future’’ pays respect to both its past and future in its paradoxical title.

``The future can change according to events of the past, as in the String Theory,’’ noted senior curator Woo Hye-soo in an introductory note. ``Which posits that the universe changes according to oscillations of strings that link particles.’’

Leeum’s attitude toward its history and future is epitomized in the work by French artist Laurent Grasso, recipient of the 2008 Marchel Duchamp Prize, who created the large-scale light installation that emblazons the exhibition title across the top of the museum, burned into the landscape overlooking Hannam-dong.

``Memories of the Future’’ can be read by all passing by, its gleaming light casting shadows upon all those who dare attempt to better it in height. The Leeum Samsung Museum of Art has, indeed, returned.

The exhibition will run through Feb. 13, 2011. General admission is 5,000 won. For more information, visit www.leeum.org.