[Exhibitions of the Week] Martin Margiela Exhibition · Kim Hongsik Solo Exhibition Flaneur Meets Lust and More

Fl^aneur Meet, Painted Ink & Silkscreen on Embossed Stainless Steel, 130x104cm, 2019-2022. Photo by The Trinity Gallery.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] ▲Kim Hongsik Flaneur Meets Lust Exhibition = The Trinity Gallery is hosting the exhibition ‘Flaneur Meets Lust’ by artist Kim Hongsik. Kim Hongsik has been capturing moments with his camera at famous art museums and galleries around the world, recording them within frames. The gaze of people looking at masterpieces against the backdrop of world-renowned museums, the omniscient artist’s gaze observing those people, and the viewers’ gaze who see this as another artwork?all these infinitely continuing and overlapping gazes are connected through space and time using golden frames on stainless steel canvases in the ‘Flaneur’ series, which the artist presents in this exhibition.

The details vividly expressed on stainless steel evoke curiosity about whether the work is photography or painting and about the creative process. The artist evenly applies a photosensitive emulsion on a metal plate and lets it dry, then places photographic film on top. The image on the film is transferred directly onto the stainless steel plate. Through an etching process, the lines and surfaces of the image are expressed as textures. The artist then applies ink to the etched metal surface to absorb well, wipes it off, and prints it in a printmaking process, followed by additional painting over the silk screen that uses the plate itself. The artist calls this technique ‘metal plate etching painting.’

Fl^aneur Meet, Painted Ink & Silkscreen on Embossed Stainless steel, 130x104cm, 2019-2022. Photo by The Trinity Gallery.

In the new series, the artist explores the psychology that begins with active gazes and appreciation and leads to the desire for possession. The work starts from observing the scene of young generations enthusiastic about contemporary art. The MZ generation, representing the newly emerging consumer group in today’s art market, does not see contemporary artworks as mere objects of ‘viewing.’ They have experienced unimaginable pain and disconnection due to COVID-19, leading them to focus more on their inner selves. They strongly desire culture and express it without hesitation.

The artist raises new questions while observing the crowds filling the Louvre. These questions connect to works featuring contemporary art pieces cheered by them, representations of floating humans, and newly appearing blue colors. The artist says that constantly wanting and craving something is proof of being alive. These desires shine through the artist’s radiant golden frames. The exhibition runs until February 11, 2023, at The Trinity Gallery, Jangmun-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Martin Margiela Exhibition Poster. Photo by Lotte Museum

▲Martin Margiela Exhibition = Lotte Museum is holding the first large-scale solo exhibition in Korea of world-renowned designer Martin Margiela. Martin Margiela, founder of the fashion brand Maison Margiela and a global fashion designer, suddenly retired from the fashion world in 2008 and now presents a large-scale exhibition as a creator of pure art.

Since the 1980s, Martin Margiela has deeply explored themes such as ‘art, material and body, concepts of gender, the permanence of time, and direct participation,’ presenting diverse works. This exhibition features over 50 pieces including installations, sculptures, videos, performances, and paintings. The artist transcends the limitations of the fashion system and the human body as a medium to pose questions within the new space of museum possibilities. He also proposes alternative thinking and continues to develop his artistic practice.

The representative work of this exhibition, ‘Deodorant,’ is a very everyday object. The artist reminds us that deodorant artificially conceals the natural human scent and further reflects on how modern society’s hygiene concepts have become industrialized realities. Since his first solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipation in Paris in 2021, he has held exhibitions at M Woods in Beijing this year and now in Seoul for the third time. The exhibition runs until March 26, 2023, at Lotte Museum, Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul.

Jungin Kim, Image Ensemble 6, 2022, Oil on canvas, 73x61cm. Photo by Rahin Gallery

▲Kim Sangso, Kim Jeongin, Son Wihyeok Three-Person Exhibition ‘Chaos and Cosmos’ = Rahin Gallery is hosting the three-person exhibition ‘Chaos and Cosmos’ featuring Kim Sangso, Kim Jeongin, and Son Wihyeok. This exhibition focuses on creative activities centered on process while highlighting artists who explore diverse phenomena emerging from initial chaotic conditions and seek order. The exhibition classifies the transformations of the artists’ work worlds according to the degree of order. At one end is the cosmos, where organic harmony is complete, and at the other end is chaos, full of infinite potential. ‘Chaos and Cosmos’ sets these hypothetical extremes and arranges the transformations and distortions shown in the participating artists’ work worlds between these two concepts. It investigates what led the artists to unfamiliar weaving and distortion and examines the phenomena of perceptual shifts from chaos through form, content, and the medium characteristics of painting.

Artist Kim Sangso has explored narratives developed through human intermediaries and the media that capture these narratives. He finds formal language from narrative elements and attempts to unravel or entangle these signs within the frame of painting in an unbalanced and disjointed manner. Artist Kim Jeongin contemplates how to dedicate his work to the task of pioneering resistance against the tyranny of power that forces upheaval by coercion. He gathers images permeated like moisture in the cracks of alleys he often wandered and forms their solidarity on the canvas. These condensed images refuse to be easily deciphered by the subjects of power or even the audience.

Sangso Kim, Bookshelf, Multi Makeup, 2022, Watercolor on paper, 42x29.7cm. Photo by Raheen Gallery

Artist Son Wihyeok felt isolated in existence due to peripheral curiosities, rapidly evaporating images, and unverified overflowing information frequently encountered in the virtual cyber world. When information overload occurs, he transfers distorted, twisted, and malfunctioning mental images?such as pixels breaking or warping?onto the canvas. However, behind these innocent and somewhat comical forms lies a challenge to the audience on how to respond to today’s trend of excessive information exposure.

The exhibition guides viewers to sense the reality of change and vague causal relationships within the chaotic, fragmented images. Recognizing that seemingly disorderly forms can flow as the driving force of creation offers a fresh approach to engaging with the ambiguous and complex artistic worlds. The exhibition runs until January 20, 2023, at Rahin Gallery, Hangang-daero, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.