[Exhibition of the Week] Shybitz, Park Youngha Solo Exhibition · 2023 Kumho Young Artist Part 2 and More

▲Jung Jik-seong Solo Exhibition 'Phantasmagoria of Day by Day' = Gallery Page Room 8 is hosting a solo exhibition by artist Jung Jik-seong titled 'Phantasmagoria of Day by Day.'

Sunflower 202311. Integrity.
[Photo by Page Room 8]

This exhibition differs from the artist's previous shows. The works presented are new layers of creations not yet introduced in the 7cm-thick 'Jung Jik-seong Brick Book,' which compiles his works from 1997 to 2020, since he is a class of '95 artist. The artist's works, inspired by the concept of a 'kaleidoscope,' intertwine with his daily life and reflections, showing a slightly different aspect from the conceptual stage and have evolved through variations over about a year. Recently, the phrase 'day by day' was added, making it 'Phantasmagoria of Day by Day.' The act of brushstrokes, color tones, and the shapes of subjects each carry their own pace as if the artist's thoughts pass by differently each day, embodying a special dynamism.

This exhibition features synesthetic elements such as 'wind' and 'rain' alongside animals and plants. The technique of paint flowing down and being repainted, with shapes glimpsed in between forming various layers, is the result of the artist's unconscious/conscious actions and brushwork intertwined. The scenes appear temporarily fixed on the canvas surface, supported without slipping but rather maintaining tension.

Norang-i. 202328. Integrity.
[Photo by Page Room 8]

The artist introduces his work by saying, "Recently, I felt the need to bring back into discussion the rhetorical nature of painting's color and brushwork (the metaphorical, simile, metonymic, synecdochic, allegorical characteristics applied to the surface depending on how and to what extent the subject is revealed) and Brechtian alienation effect (brushstrokes that erase or cover, marks left behind) and to experiment with restoring everydayness and fantasy in painting."

He adds, "What I am currently painting are things I cherished and loved but are no longer by my side, things I believe exist but cannot see, things beautiful and brilliant yet soon to disappear," and "I aimed to rhetorically present through brushstrokes and traces of paint the sensory experience of memory and reality unfolding while recalling absent or soon-to-be absent subjects, and the synesthetic connection we can feel."

The exhibition runs until June 18 at Gallery Page Room 8, Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Park Young-ha, Tomorrow's You, 2023 [Photo by Hakgojae]

▲Shaywitz & Park Young-ha Solo Exhibitions = Hakgojae Gallery is simultaneously hosting exhibitions of abstract painters from Germany and Korea. German artist Thomas Shaywitz (55) exhibits in the main building, while Korean artist Park Young-ha (69) shows works in the annex until June 17. Shaywitz, who represented the German Pavilion at the 2005 Venice Biennale, is holding his second solo exhibition in Korea since 2019. Park Young-ha is presenting a solo exhibition in Korea for the first time in 10 years.

As the exhibition title 'Jennifer in Paradise' suggests, Shaywitz focuses on the world's first composite photograph created by John, who worked at the famous American film company ILM, by combining a photo of his girlfriend Jennifer taken during a 1987 trip to Bora Bora with a background image. This story related to the birth of 'Photoshop,' the iconic photo editing program, serves as material to understand Shaywitz's world of work, which involves direct image transformation and combining and altering images from different contexts.

Thomas Shapewitz, Jennifer in Paradise, 2023 [Photo courtesy of Hakgojae]

The artist obtains new images from Renaissance paintings, contemporary comics, mass media, graphic design, and geometrically transforms photos taken with a digital camera and pencil drawings as sources for his work. He explains, "Although Photoshop acts as a tool in my work, I do not operate it directly," adding, "The concept of cutting and pasting images itself is important in my work." The exhibition introduces 21 paintings and 2 sculptures along with the title work using images extracted from 'Jennifer in Paradise.'

Park Young-ha decided to pursue abstract work since his university days studying painting, believing that "art must be abstract." He has consistently followed this path. To express colors as close to natural hues as possible, he develops and uses his own pigments. However, the ultimate goal of the artist is not the reproduction of nature but convergence into the painting itself.

All the works presented in this exhibition bear the title 'Tomorrow's You,' suggested by his father, poet Park Du-jin. The artist explains, "My father did not explain the specific meaning," but adds, "As artists should be one step ahead of ordinary people, I translate this theme into paintings to contemplate the essence of painting as a being slightly closer to tomorrow." The exhibition reveals over 30 paintings and drawings by Park Young-ha, who has pondered the essence of abstraction. The exhibition runs until June 17 at Hakgojae, Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Lee Hee-jun_Untitled 09, 2023, acrylic and photo collage on canvas, 91x91cm
[Photo by Kumho Museum of Art]

▲2023 Kumho Young Artist Part 2: Lee Hee-jun, Lim No-sik, Hyun Seung-ui = Kumho Museum of Art is holding the second part of the '2023 Kumho Young Artist' exhibition until June 11. Among the six artists selected in the 20th Kumho Young Artist competition program in 2022 (Kim Won-jin, Lee Hee-jun, Lim No-sik, Jo Jae, Jung Young-ho, Hyun Seung-ui), this exhibition showcases solo exhibitions of Lee Hee-jun, Lim No-sik, and Hyun Seung-ui.

Lee Hee-jun presents paintings and installations incorporating the concept of 'scaffolding,' temporary structures used in architectural construction. The artist also attempts installations that transform the actual exhibition space into a variable environment. The space, newly designed through the materiality of painting and sensory shifts, induces multifaceted experiences beyond habitual attitudes. Through this, he expresses elements of proportion, balance, and color discovered in his exploration of urban architectural space in his own abstract visual language.

Im Noshik Solo Exhibition 'Deep Line' Exhibition View
[Photo courtesy of Kumho Museum of Art]

Lim No-sik experiments with his own pictorial space through a process of reduction centered on 'line.' He explores various situations arising in the process of realizing images collected from daily life into paintings. In 'Deep Line,' he shows the way of perceiving objects through line-centered expression. The thin lines remaining in an extremely reduced state through processes of emptying and discarding encapsulate entire landscapes and objects. These minimal forms evoke imagination about the relationship between inside and outside and unseen surrounding situations.

Hyun Seung-ui composes symbolic images of the fictional character 'Mr. ■' on a vacation in Jeju, presenting dense paintings that address the logic of capital operating beyond idealized landscapes, as well as ecological, environmental, and social issues. The artist, who has dealt with the relationship between humans and nature and the dark sides of tourism capital, unravels various discourses inherent in space with a cynical perspective. The 'black paintings' imbued with the artist's gaze pose questions about the current situation we all face and the future to come. The exhibition runs until June 11 at Kumho Museum of Art, Sagan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.