[Exhibitions of the Week] EChristine 'Principle in Progress' Exhibition · Ingo Baumgarten Solo Exhibition '4 PM' and More

Untitled (Parallel structures - roof and wall, Dongyodong, Seoul), 2019-20, Oil on Canvas, 70x100cm. Photo courtesy of Project Space Mieum

[Asia Economy Reporter Heeyoon Kim] ▲Ingo Baumgarten Solo Exhibition '4 PM' = Project Space Mieum is hosting Ingo Baumgarten's solo exhibition titled '4 PM.' The artist captures spaces and objects he visualizes on canvas. Most of these objects are architectural structures. Some paintings depict entire buildings, while others intricately portray architectural details. The chiaroscuro and line drawing in these works strictly follow traditional painting techniques, yet paradoxically, they also function as an effect to distance themselves from tradition. Baumgarten's works show familiar buildings drifting separately within a certain space (city). The scenes of houses from the Japanese colonial era cultural houses evolving into Saemaeul housing, detached houses from the architectural period, parts of high-rise buildings, or apartment landscapes appear indifferently lonely.

The artist was born in Germany, studied in Japan, passed through Taiwan and China, and settled in Korea. Reflecting this diverse background, he has built an artistic world based on memories of various forms of residences. What the artist persistently focuses on is the objecthood of the house. There is no life or living anywhere. Even natural nature is practically rejected. There is hardly any intention to make a certain accusation. The artist records the house itself as an object. This seems to be his ultimate purpose.

Through a perspective that insightfully examines the objecthood of human dwellings after the industrial society, the artist has intensely documented the objecthood of life in capitalist society. His works are neatly dry and honestly desolate. The artist rarely exposes emotions in his works. Neither abundance, luxury, vanity, nor sadness is concealed or activated. Thus, Baumgarten's work is a powerful report on human dwellings objectified and degraded through flawless object painting. The exhibition runs until February 18 at Project Space Mieum, Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

▲Ikristin 'Principle of Advancement' Exhibition = Gallery Dos is holding a planned exhibition 'Principle of Advancement' by sculptor Ikristin. The artist has contemplated her identity and the meaning of identity while moving between Korea and abroad, navigating between mainstream and minority cultures. Life experiences are accepted as the source of artistic creation, and she realizes works through everyday objects, discussing the harmony newly arising amid opposing relationships and conflicts. The artist expresses changes and confusion of identity through objects like lemons and sausages, which originated in the East but have settled in the West, continuing from her previous works. The main material is clay, which can be shaped into any form, allowing infinite imagination and immersion.

The objects in the new work 'Principle of Advancement' go beyond previous works to reflect today's identity. The main piece is a gigantic cement flowerpot densely filled with rotating poppies, symbolizing harmony amid recurring conflicts in daily life. Each poppy in different colors looks like a different kind, but when mixed, they harmoniously blend. This represents that the world the artist belongs to is a product of opposition created by mixing numerous diverse elements.

In this exhibition, the artist projects various experiences of movement into her works, attempting to blur boundaries across multiple domains beyond the essential. This can be seen as questioning distinctions such as gender, nationality, and culture, and posing fundamental questions about existence. Through the form of art, the artist creates an opportunity to confirm her position in modern society, intervening in herself according to changing circumstances to establish identity. This shares the artist's nomadic life and the resulting ideology, offering a time to affirm identity based on diversity. The artist explains, "Objects in the works depict struggles between opposites as the most ordinary yet all-encompassing, metaphorically relating to our lives," adding, "This struggle always exists in the world and presents a new and advanced world created when opposing elements coexist." Thus, the artist focuses on the role of this recurring process in a progressing world, symbolizing new birth from opposition. The exhibition runs from the 4th to the 10th at Gallery Dos, Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

▲Group Exhibition 'Rhythm in Color' = Helen & Jay Gallery Seoul presents the group exhibition 'Rhythm in Color,' showcasing the visual liveliness and joy of painting. Each artist's unique sensibility on canvas evokes diverse sensitivities in viewers. The four participating artists?Daniel Militonian, Diego Tirigall, Chuchin Gutierrez, and Hyungsub Choi?have left their birth countries to pursue art activities abroad. Their works combine their original cultural backgrounds with the sensibilities encountered in their new regions and contemporary experiences, creating richer and more engaging visuals.

Daniel Militonian, a Russian artist using the nickname Dunkees, currently works in Los Angeles, USA. The unique free atmosphere of Venice Beach, centered around its wide beach, has greatly influenced his work. His subjects are all the enjoyable things he sensually perceives. He reinterprets visual elements encountered in daily life, such as Venice Beach graffiti art, hippie culture, and TV animation, into his own drawings.

Diego Tirigall, from Argentina and active in Spain, fills his canvases with intuitive expressions of consumer society. The canned food symbolizing instant products represents modern society's pursuit of convenience over sincerity or nutrition. The artist views consumerism's convenience as sweet like a pact with the devil but ultimately an empty can. His unrestrained brushstrokes, created through a process of scribbling images and words that loop in his mind, traverse the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Chuchin Gutierrez, originally from Colombia and currently active in Chile, paints figures with bold strokes. His paintings captivate with graphic yet free and daring touches. The facial forms based on multiple perspectives recall Cubism and align with Latin America's unique indigenism. His figures embody complex social phenomena and cultural structures, dynamically and sometimes grotesquely portraying humans as subjects within them.

Hyungsub Choi, from South Korea and currently residing in France, uses lines as a motif in his work. His habit of recording life abroad has been condensed into curves. He titles his works 'Sentimographie,' a compound of sentiment, mot (word), and graphie (writing). By deleting the content of records, he leaves space for potentiality and emotion. Through variations of lines, the artist captures diverse inner emotions and waves. The repetitive acts, which could be linked to practice, are expressed as joyful play through changes in materials and harmonious colors. The exhibition runs until the 20th at Helen & Jay Gallery, Palpan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.