Conceptual artist Cody Choi prepares for Venice
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Cody Choi's "Color Painting 2121" (2016). / Courtesy of PKM Gallery
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Conceptual artist Cody Choi holds his first painting exhibition in 15 years at the PKM Gallery in central Seoul.
Choi comes from a multicultural background as he immigrated to the United States when he was in university. He lived in Los Angeles and New York for nearly two decades before returning to Seoul. He questions the issue of cultural socialization and assimilation, as well as the rapid and increasingly aggressive Westernization of Asia.
The exhibition title, "Color Painting (CHEESEKHWA): Frustration is Beautiful" refers to the antithesis of the Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) movement established in the 1970s that was rediscovered a few years ago.
The paintings on display challenges reason and emotion. On the canvas, the word “violet” is written in yellow, while “red” is in green and “blue” is in red.
“Art is not just selling beauty like design. There is something more in art -- we feel and learn from art. I think bringing people into conflict is a way to evoke feelings and thoughts,” Choi said.
Choi defines himself as a conceptual artist whose concepts or ideas take precedence over traditional method of expressions. “For painters, they put their artisan spirit in completing a painting, but conceptual artists’ spirit is in relentless thinking,” he said.
The exhibit is to raise fund for Choi's next exhibit -- in Venice, Italy next May. Choi was chosen to represent Korea at the 2017 Venice Biennale along with artist Lee Wan.
As a culture theorist, Choi taught at many schools including New York University, Seoul National University and Hongik University. "I have been telling my students that they should not be deceived by those prestigious biennales," Choi said.
Now that he has been chosen to present new works at the Korea Pavilion in Venice, Choi is ready to participate in the world's largest contemporary art event.
The main project will be "Venetian Rhapsody," taking its name from Queen's song "Bohemian Rhapsody" and questioning political geography of the city. As soon as he was selected for the Venice Biennale, Choi began wondering what Venice is like.
"Venice is a tourist city. The city is full of tourists all year round and tourism provides for the city," the artist said. "Art is one of Venice's major tourist attractions. The city itself is a grand artwork as well as its architecture and objects. The Venice Biennale is a big event for them and huge capital of collectors gathers in Venice during the biennale."
From Choi's perspective, Venice is no different from gambling cities such as Las Vegas or Macau, so he will reinterpret the glittering but hollow signboards of the cities. "There is no true art in Venice, but it has power, capital and ultimately authority," Choi said.
Choi's solo exhibition runs through Nov. 30. For more information, visit pkmgallery.com or call 02-734-9467.