[Exhibition of the Week] Variation and Independence Exhibition · From the Land to the Air and Others

▲Variations and Independence: Prints by Contemporary Japanese Painters = Sungkok Art Museum is hosting the exhibition "Variations and Independence: Prints by Contemporary Japanese Painters" in collaboration with the Japan Foundation Seoul Cultural Center, showcasing works by 10 Japanese artists. This exhibition is part of a world tour regularly planned by the Japan Foundation headquarters, re-examining the history of contemporary Japanese printmaking from the new perspective of 'painters' prints' and introducing the diverse art world of Japan to Korea.

Murai Masanari, 'Sun and Bird', 1973, silkscreen, 68×49cm, ⓒMasanari Murai

The exhibition features 42 print works by 10 artists: Murai Masanari, Onosato Toshinobu, Tabuchi Yasukazu, Kusama Yayoi, Nakanishi Natsuyuki, Nakazato Hitoshi, Murakami Tomoharu, Hikosaka Naoyoshi, Hori Kosai, and Tatsuno Toeko. Visitors can encounter prints by artists who have led the flow of contemporary Japanese art, such as Kusama Yayoi, well known in Korea for her work across painting, installation, and happenings on the global art stage, and Murai Masanari, regarded as a pioneer of Japanese abstract painting. These prints reveal variations of painterly expression while also demonstrating the unique expressive forms of printmaking, offering a new horizon for contemporary Japanese printmaking and encouraging reconsideration of the intrinsic artistic value of prints in today’s art world. Additionally, the exhibition provides brief introductions to printmaking techniques used in the works, such as lithography, silkscreen, etching, woodblock printing, and stonecut, to help the public better understand these diverse and less familiar printmaking methods and their characteristics. The exhibition runs until the 30th at Sungkok Art Museum, Gyeonghuigung-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Yoon Il-kwon_Memory_Screenprinting on Napkins_ 210x210x210cm_2017~2021. [Photo by Page Room 8]

▲Yoon Il-gwon Solo Exhibition "Back, Side, Below, Above" = Page Room 8 presents the "Monad Printmaking" project, a solo exhibition by Yoon Il-gwon, introducing four artists (Kim Ga-seul, Yoon Il-gwon, Ji Ya-sol, Han Ji-min) who incorporate printmaking techniques and concepts into their artistic practice. Through the works of these four artists, including Yoon Il-gwon who applies printmaking concepts to three-dimensional and installation works, the exhibition aims to view printmaking as a complete visual art form, independent of other genres, like the philosophical term ‘monad’ which denotes an indivisible ultimate entity.

As the title suggests, this exhibition addresses the blind spots in perception and vision that arise from focusing only forward. It introduces three series utilizing techniques such as etching, lithography, and silkscreen. The works include an installation piece where faces are silkscreened on the side of a bundle of napkins, and 'Movement in Space,' created by repeatedly printing etchings to embody the physicality derived from childhood games discovered by the artist during the journey to Page Room 8, the exhibition venue. By conceptualizing the essential ‘layer’ in printmaking as various levels of vision, the exhibition realizes a multifaceted visual art through the medium of printmaking. The exhibition runs until the 16th at Page Room 8, Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Exhibition scene rising from the ground into the air.
[Photo by SpaceSo]

▲From the Ground Up to the Air Exhibition = Space So presents the themed exhibition on sculpture, "From the Ground Up to the Air," featuring over 50 new and recent works by five artists: Kim Han-saem, Jung Ji-eun, Choi Su-ang, Ham Jin, and Hong Jung-wook.

In recent two to three years, exhibitions, articles, and various projects related to sculpture have become noticeable, sparking many discussions within the art community, which was welcome but also left some regrets. Compared to other genres, sculpture and installation works and their exhibitions attract attention due to their visual and exhibition effects. While these works evoke admiration and awe from audiences and are frequently collected in phone photo albums, it is not easy for them to find a place in someone's personal space and daily life.

Starting by asking visitors, "Do you like sculpture?" this exhibition aims to discuss the perspectives and opinions on ‘sculpture collecting,’ where exhibitions are enjoyable and works are good, but acquisition is hesitant. The exhibition hopes that these small sculptures will settle not just as collections in photo albums but as collections in everyday life.

The exhibition brings together five artists who shape their worldview by modeling and carving: mid-career artists born in the 1970s with over 20 years of activity, and young artists born in the 1990s who continue active work under the title of emerging artists. Their works, which cross between modeling and sculpture, figurative and abstract, painting and sculpture, and expand into installation forms within space, are categorized as 'Sojo (塑造) - Modeling,' 'Jokgol (彫刻) - Sculpture-fragment/piece,' and 'So (小) - Sculpture_outside the plane,' but all works by participating artists are presented together.

A large structure serving as a shared pedestal and joint stage for the works rises in the exhibition space. On this stage, Kim Han-saem’s "Picture Stone" faces Ham Jin’s ‘Miniature Sculpture,’ next to which Choi Su-ang’s sculpture stands; Jung Ji-eun’s loose sculpture contrasts with Hong Jung-wook’s sharply defined sculpture. These works, stepping out from the familiar and typical cubic pedestal or their own large or small spaces and stages, meet closely in the architectural space rising within the exhibition hall. This arrangement allows visitors to create dialogues between works, imagining relationships between pieces that have never met before by bringing them close together. The exhibition runs until the 22nd at Space So, Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul.