[Exhibition of the Week] Nahyun Solo Exhibition & Planned Exhibition 'Bubbles, Whistle' etc.

Kim Sun-young_Dimension Forest_194×390cm_Acrylic, gouache, and powdered pigments on Korean paper_2022. Photo by Art Space Hue

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] ▲The 9th 'Chong Kun Dang Art Award' = The 'Chong Kun Dang Art Award' is a project matched by Chong Kun Dang and the alternative space Art Space Huga in collaboration with the Korea Mecenat Association. It was planned to contribute to the development of Korean contemporary art through support for alternative spaces and artists. The 9th Chong Kun Dang Art Award was co-hosted by the Korea Mecenat Association and Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, adding significance to exploring the meeting points between corporations and art, and between artworks and the public.

This exhibition is a solo invitational exhibition of artists Kim Sunyoung, Yoo Seungho, and Choi Suryun, who were selected for the 2020 Chong Kun Dang Art Award. The three invited artists in the curated exhibition repeatedly engage with conventional concepts and images, while gradually or boldly escaping to depict images of worlds previously absent. Kim Sunyoung’s canvases, where clear forms and boundaries are hard to find, are composed not as landscapes for contemplation but as inner self-reflection and introspection. Yoo Seungho captures texts within murmurs and humming, presenting them as images. Choi Suryun incorporates the tradition of resolving grudges found in East Asian myths and legends into her works, presenting images of death and rituals. The exhibition runs until the 28th at Gallery 1, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Sejong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

▲Na Hyun Solo Exhibition 'NA HYUN DRAWING' = Gallery BK Hannam in Hannam-dong, Seoul, is hosting a solo exhibition of artist Na Hyun until December 15. Na Hyun is an artist who fills the gaps of past historical events with his own artistic imagination. This exhibition showcases his representative works along with drawings, documents, and videos as part of Na Hyun’s ‘Documentary Art Project.’

The artist is interested in the meaning and function of ethnicity and conducts projects connecting the past and present based on materials related to forgotten or fading historical events and records. To carry out international documentary art projects as well as domestic ones, the artist analyzes materials related to historical events and records in his own way, directly planning and executing research, official document preparation, interviews, artwork production and installation, photography, video documentation, and site visits. The fragments collected by combining objective facts and the artist’s subjective perspective are reassembled and constructed into an organic form called a project.

British historian Edward Hallett Carr stated in 'What is History?' (1961) that history is viewing the past through people’s eyes, so the thoughts of modern recorders or interpreters who look at the thinking and lifestyles of past people are very important. History is not simply discovering objectively existing facts from the past but a process of evaluating and reinterpreting those facts. Na Hyun fills this with documents and materials of objective facts from humanities, history, anthropology, and ethnography. Through the artist’s eyes, the past is observed and revealed, exposing the nature of truth and intervening in history to reconstruct traces of time. The exhibition runs until December 15 at Gallery BK Hannam, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Kim Ji-young_Light and the Temperature of Breath_2020_Single-channel video, color, stereo sound (Sound by Min-hwi Lee)_4 minutes 30 seconds. Photo by Doosan Gallery

▲Curated Exhibition 'Bubbles, Whistle' = Doosan Gallery is holding the curated exhibition 'Bubbles, Whistle' until December 17. The exhibition title ‘Bubbles’ and ‘Whistle’ each refer to abnormal breathing sounds. In these days, accustomed to receiving desired content without hesitation through search algorithms and scrolling quickly on smartphones, the exhibition aims to create a time to calmly catch one’s breath and face the artworks. The thirteen works by Kim Jiyoung, Park Sejin, Park Jooyeon, Sung Nakhee, Oh Gayoung, Lee Seungae, and Cho Hyori offer viewers their own rhythms and provide a space to momentarily distance themselves from the outside world.

Do we have enough opportunities to check or listen to our own breathing every day? Breathing is a natural act that sustains life and can be described as an unconscious and essential repetition. It is known that an adult breathes in and out about 16 to 20 times per minute on average. Over 20,000 times a day, as the inhaled air spreads throughout the body, if the flow or process is not perfect, small sounds begin to be heard from the lungs.

Seong Nakhee_Resonance_2015_Oil on canvas_160×180cm_Doosan Yeongang Foundation Collection. Photo by Doosan Gallery

Kim Jiyoung’s 'The Temperature of Light and Breath' (2020) calmly presents scenes of sunrises and sunsets recorded over a period with a smartphone, accompanied by repetitive human breathing sounds. Park Sejin’s landscapes, including 'Hill Under Hill' (2013), capture countless changing fragments of light depending on the season and time. In Park Jooyeon’s 'Summer Light' (2008), a small mirror held by a figure continuously sends light toward some space it touches, like an echo through reflection. Sung Nakhee’s 'Resonance' (2013) repeatedly resonates from the central lines and colors to invisible things beyond the frame. Oh Gayoung’s photographs of natural objects such as 'Crab' (2021) and 'Butterfly' (2021) are printed on translucent fabric that looks like a membrane, making reality pass through more lightly. Lee Seungae’s delicate pencil lines in '1979' (2010) and 'Becoming' (2017) serve as threads guiding the audience into the mythical stories of the paintings. Inspired by the experience of collecting the sound of a tree drawing water through a two-person stethoscope, Cho Hyori’s 'I Heard You Looking' (2021) offers the stethoscope chest piece to the viewer.

The artists encourage viewers to face the works directly with their own eyes, carefully observe all aspects, and linger in front of the artworks. Through this, they provide a place and experience to vividly recall ourselves on the current ground. The exhibition runs until December 17 at Doosan Gallery, Yeonji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.