[Exhibition of the Week] Nojun Solo Exhibition 'Into the Candyverse' · Group Exhibition of 3 'Form of Roots? My Place' etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] ▲Group Exhibition 'Form of Roots ? My Place' = Rahin Gallery will hold a group exhibition titled 'Form of Roots ? My Place' featuring artists Kim Byungju, Kim Sunhee, and In Younghye on February 2.

Sunhee Kim, Light Lights l solid 202301, 2023, Acrylic plates, LED, etc., 2900 x 1500 x 200 mm. [Photo by Rahin Gallery]

The exhibition was planned to explore a 'space' that creates a safe zone where one can find their place within the order of the world, in other words, a place to 'take root.' It approaches the attachment and contemplation everyone has toward a specific place as a desire for 'roots.' The exhibition explains that this space, which allows us to experience existential interiority, is 'my place' where one can exhibit and construct everything about oneself. It particularly highlights three artists whose work begins with space and bears fruit within it.

Through this, the exhibition examines the significance of the spaces that serve as each artist's roots in their work, or how they construct 'my place' by bringing their works into space, encouraging audiences to interpret the spaces created by the artists with their own senses. Kim Byungju’s work, which applies perspective, captures overlapping time and space as it passes through the boundaries of steel structures with an unobstructed view. Kim Sunhee sets the starting point of light at zero, reaffirming the obvious principle that light, which was vaguely let flow, is the medium that reveals all things. In Younghye attempts to achieve 'complete control and coordination' through sewing tightly adhered to her fingertips, giving free form to pocket shapes made by sewing fabric. The exhibition runs until March 11 at Rahin Gallery, Yongsan-dong 3-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Nojun, A Quiet Dialogue for Nostalgia - Pink Alice and Ravi-Old Trace.
[Photo by Payto Gallery]

▲No Jun Solo Exhibition 'Into the Candyverse' = Payto Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition by artist No Jun titled 'Into the Candyverse,' focusing on humans, animals, and nature, until February 25.

The artist actively uses various media with the theme of humans, animals, nature, and further, the 'restoration of relationships' between humans. Having walked his own path of character sculpture with excellent sense of form and refined techniques, the artist introduces new candy paintings in this exhibition. The term Metaverse, a compound of Meta (meaning processing or abstraction) and Universe (meaning the real world), first appeared in a 1992 science fiction novel. The artist focuses on the metaverse, a core keyword of modern IT industries where virtual worlds like the web and internet combine with reality, used in games, social network services (SNS), education, medical care, and all industries. Candyverse is a compound of Candy, a sweet and water-soluble crystal, and Universe, representing an ideal and beautiful world where all conflicts and disputes are resolved. Artist No Jun has embedded the new universe (New Space) and symbol he dreams and creates within this Candyverse.

No Jun’s animal characters are round and cute. The expressions and actions of animals in the works reflect our emotions and behaviors. The familiar appearance of animals offers comfort and joy to audiences who may feel fatigue or difficulty with abstract contemporary art through the visual familiarity of 'cute animals.' The artist adds personality and wit through animal sculptural language combined with various media such as wood, stone, FRP, steel, and bronze. Additionally, the freely applied car painting and candy painting techniques enhance the works’ unique color expression and fun. The stories embedded in the animal character sculptures convey a message of hope for restoring broken or severed relationships and recovering relationships through respect and love for the subject. The exhibition runs until February 25 at Payto Gallery, Dongho-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul.

My Guardian Deity 1_74x65cm Colored powder, gold powder, gold leaf on Korean paper 2022.
[Photo by Gallery La Mer]

▲Park Eunju Solo Exhibition 'Towards Happiness' = Gallery La Mer will hold the second exhibition of the 2022 Emerging Artist Creation Support Program 'Art Daum,' featuring solo artist Park Eunju from February 1.

The artist expands her artistic world with the theme of horses. She expresses her own story in her works, continuing her unique style that combines Western and Eastern aesthetics. Inspired by horseracing paintings, her works embody free vitality, and the horses in her works reflect the artist herself. Using Western painting techniques, the artist harmoniously blends Eastern and Western aesthetics through traditional patterns and auspicious meanings from folk paintings. The addition of botanical patterns creates a harmonious and exotic feel in the works.

With a wish to achieve what she intends, the artist emphasizes auspicious meanings by adding traditional motifs to the horse saddles. She paints animals wishing for her family’s happiness and peace, and she introduces that this exhibition is filled with her love for her family. The artist’s new works, characterized by delicate detail and three-dimensionality, use negative space to focus on the subject, and the horse figures are meticulously rendered with shading to appear three-dimensional. The artist expresses her desire to continue expanding her work with the theme of horses and shares her ambition to freely and boundarylessly present good paintings without being constrained by materials or genres. The exhibition runs until February 6 at Gallery La Mer, Insadong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.