[Exhibition of the Week] Sohee An Solo Exhibition 'Eyes, Wind, Silence' · Jeju Biennale and More

Streching Cat (white socks)_56x21x52(h)cm_mixed media_2022. Photo by Yehwarang

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] ▲Sangsoo Lee Solo Exhibition 'DRAWING IN THE AIR' = The solo exhibition 'Drawing in the Air' by sculptor Sangsoo Lee presents works that vividly depict distinctive animals expressed through simplified forms and colors. Inspired by Picasso's drawings of animals using minimal lines, the artist focuses on the unique personalities of various animals, capturing their characteristic movements and poses, then recreating them in three-dimensional space.

The artist uses 3D programs to draw in a virtual space and finds the most ideal color combinations through various variations. Most works under 1 meter in size are produced by printing plastic materials with a 3D printer, then processing and coloring them. For works larger than that, the artist creates blueprints and fabricates them by laser-cutting metal plates and welding, adding vitality to the pieces.

Rooster_40x24x40(h)cm_mixed media_2022. Photo by Yehwarang

In three-dimensional space, the artist succinctly incorporates the dynamic features of animal sculptures according to the thickness of lines and the flow of colors. His works, characterized by smoothly connected rhythmic curves, offer visual richness and sculptural enjoyment in harmony with various colors. The exhibition runs until January 14, 2023, at Yeh Gallery in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

An Sohee, Sprout, watercolor on paper, colored pencil, 2022. Photo by Page Room 8

▲Sohee Ahn Solo Exhibition 'Eyes, Wind, Silence' = Page Room 8 holds the first solo exhibition in Seoul of Sohee Ahn, an artist born, raised, and active in Jeju. Held between the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, this exhibition delicately presents the inner silence and turmoil of humans through Ahn's unique 'eyes.'

The artist's eyes in the works, which invite viewers to look beyond seeing, serve as a window revealing compassion for humans, celebration of life, and sorrows. The large, deep eyes of the figures in the works carry the artist's distinctive sensibility and brushwork. Ahn expresses impressions of people met in daily life through their facial expressions and symbolic shapes as backgrounds. The 'eyes' that the artist focuses on are not fixed on any particular subject but represent a state of continuously absorbing and emptying.

The artist's colored pencil drawings reflect the panorama of faint memories and the emotions of living in Jeju well. Some of these drawings are painted in oil on canvas, not as reproductions but creating a different atmosphere unique to oil painting. In this exhibition, the artist presents portrait works completed in oil and watercolor that prominently feature 'eyes,' along with a series of watercolor landscapes drawn by extending lines in a meditative manner. The exhibition runs until January 8, 2023, at Page Room 8 in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Jeju Museum of Art is hosting the "3rd Jeju Biennale" until February 12, 2023. The Jeju Biennale centers around the main venues, Jeju Museum of Art and Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, and spans the entire island of Jeju, from the old downtown area of Jeju City to Gapado Island in the south, taking place across more than 10 exhibition sites. Photo by Jeju Biennale

▲Jeju Biennale 'Flowing Moon, Embracing Land' = The Jeju Museum of Art is hosting the '3rd Jeju Biennale' until February 12, 2023. Centered around the Jeju Museum of Art and Jeju Contemporary Art Museum, the Jeju Biennale spans over ten exhibition venues across Jeju, from the old downtown of Jeju City to Gapado Island in the south. The theme of the Jeju Biennale, 'Flowing Moon, Embracing Land,' begins by artistically exploring alternative ideas amid expanding discussions on the Anthropocene and new geological epochs. The theme conveys a message about attitudes toward life and artistic practice for humanity's survival as a natural community.

'Flowing Moon' captures the nature of time and change in nature, representing a mechanism of circulation that continuously flows and connects objects. The pandemic in the AI era highlights not only the need for solidarity in science and technology but also the natural order for global coexistence. The natural time that creates solar terms between the sun and earth and sustains living beings is conceptualized as the 'flowing, moving moon.' 'Embracing Land' implies the lively relational humility of objects breathing within nature. As part of nature, humanity must pay attention to the land's gestures as physical strata, temporal space, and historical place, facing the fact that matter creates history and myth and leads to other planets. The living material acts and horizons connected by even breathing and flexible steps are symbolized as the 'embracing land.'

The exhibition regards nature, humans, mythology, and the universe as equal entities, inviting experiences of encounters, tremors, communication, and coexistence among them. Like stepping on the ground and taking a deep breath, the flowing time of the moon and the responsive moments of the land enable the fleeting and eternal future of the natural community of humanity. The exhibition runs until February 12, 2023, at the Jeju Museum of Art.