[Exhibition of the Week] Yuichi Hirako 'New Home' · Lee Hyunjung Solo Exhibition 'Abstract of Light' etc.

Editor's NoteThis week's exhibitions introduce a variety of diverse and captivating shows from across the country that can be experienced over the course of one week.

▲ Yuichi Hirako Solo Exhibition 'New Home' = Gallery Baton presents the solo exhibition 'New Home' by Yuichi Hirako. The artist has illuminated the coexistence and interdependent relationships among nature, flora and fauna, and humans through a painting style rich in metaphor and symbolism. In his second solo exhibition, the artist organically combines painting, sculpture, and installation, selectively utilizing the diverse characteristics of each medium to more three-dimensionally realize the unique thematic consciousness underlying his works.

Yuichi Harako_2024_Lost in Thought 203_acrylic on canvas_291x218.2 cm. [Photo by Gallery Baton]

Born and raised in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, an area blessed with abundant natural environments, the artist grew up experiencing the dense forests adjacent to his village as the hub of a cyclical system where flora and fauna entrust their necessities of life. Later, during his university years in London, he noticed that urban green spaces and indoor plants primarily serve as mental comfort for humans. His critical inquiry?"Is the fate originally given to them to be transplanted into artificial places, controlled in their basic growth, and eventually perish?"?has developed into a central theme forming the foundation of his work.

This perspective also connects with deep ecology, which views all nature as a unified, holistic concept. Through his unique visual language, he advocates that nature is not an object to be conquered or developed but an independent entity to be equally regarded and respected. While stark denunciations of destroyed nature and suffering flora and fauna serve as effective agendas for contemporary environmental movements, the artist skillfully employs the medium-specific qualities of art to consistently reveal his beliefs in a de-institutionalized and moderate manner, adding to the aesthetic value of the works themselves.

Yuichi Hirako_2023_Lost in Thought 110_acrylic on canvas_194x259 cm. [Photo by Gallery Baton]

Hybrid characters, along with animals such as cats and dogs, which are key elements and foundational to his work, play a crucial role in amplifying the complex narrative of the pieces and constructing detailed storylines that multilayeredly diverge from the central theme. These supporting characters are considered a standard technique in similar visual media like animation, useful for avoiding monotony in long-form or series storytelling and effectively conveying contextual scenes. Their consistent portrayal as protected figures alongside the main characters symbolizes the artist’s compassion toward nature and animals. Although they share common traits and may appear similar at first glance, the sculptures differ in size and details, simulating nature’s core systemic characteristic of "designed micro-variations within the same group."

The exhibition title 'New Home' represents the artist’s alternative answer to the ideal future world that humanity should strive to create. Frequent appearances of objects such as a northern drum, acoustic guitar, and lantern evoke a bygone era when finite resources were harmonized with Earth's cycles to prioritize growth in balance with nature. One dominant feature of the present age, where nature has become an object of extreme exploitation rather than adaptation or conquest, is the extreme worship of scientific rationality and proof. From this viewpoint, Hirako’s work appears surreal and unfamiliar simply through the presence of hybrid characters. Ironically, at this point, he wittily and sometimes poignantly reminds us that we live in an era where the implicit history of coexistence between nature and humans, which has continued for countless years, is regarded as abnormal and regressive. The exhibition runs until July 13 at Gallery Baton, Dokseodang-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Sswaasswaa Oil on canvas 130.3x162.2cm 2024. [Photo by Gallery SP]

▲ Saetbyeol Lee Solo Exhibition 'Glitch Paradise' = Gallery Espy presents Saetbyeol Lee’s solo exhibition 'Glitch Paradise.' The title 'Glitch Paradise' combines the digital system error known as a glitch with the earthly paradise (Paradise) imbued with humanity’s aspirations, encapsulating the ominous romanticism the artist conveys in her paintings.

The exhibition consists of 23 new works extended from the 2021 show 'Layerscape.' Reflecting on the experience of perceiving reality solely through video calls during the COVID-19 pandemic, the artist created landscapes where reality is interfered with and recomposed by digital images. Scenes she painted during this period depict computer windows layered over landscapes or faces deconstructed pixel by pixel, revealing original reality obscured by images and newly assembled landscapes. The current exhibition addresses the impending global crises and the beings expanding their existence within them.

The newly unveiled series 'Emoji Human' (2024) and 'Holy Human' (2024) depict identities reconstructed from complex sources. Characters with emoji faces replacing their own and body parts flattened like digital afterimages evoke humor while simultaneously creating a bizarre impression.

Holy Human, 2024, oil on canvas 227.3 × 181.8cm
[Photo by Gallery ESP]

These beings, who conceal their faces, mingle with others, and roam nature, appear superficially to enjoy romance and tranquility, yet the layers composing and surrounding them reveal segmentation and interference. Contrary to the mysterious illusions and playful staging unfolding before the viewer’s eyes, the glitches omnipresent on the canvas hint at the underlying instability and crisis.

Additionally, landscape paintings such as 'The Spring of the World Comes Again from Our Decomposition' (2024) and 'Now, Finally, to You, My Dear' (2024), which contemplate the fin-de-si?cle crises faced by contemporary people, are also presented. The exhibition runs until the 29th at Gallery Espy, Hoenamu-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Hyunjeong Lee - Claire de Moon 2024 V2 [Photo by Korea Craft & Design Foundation]

▲ Hyunjung Lee Solo Exhibition 'Abstraction of Light' = The Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF) hosts Hyunjung Lee’s solo exhibition 'Abstraction of Light' throughout the KCDF Gallery. This exhibition showcases a variety of craft works exploring new formal beauty inspired by traditional Korean hanok architecture.

The artist has focused on the fluidity and formal beauty of spaces created by light entering through the windows of traditional hanok houses. For her, hanok windows are elements that create spatial variability, forming intangible and tangible spaces that signify coexistence and communication.

Just as the opening and layering of traditional hanok windows expand the form and function of spaces and allow the influx of nature, she has attempted to apply this concept to furniture as well. The exhibition space is designed to allow visitors to experience the various atmospheres and expressions created by light entering the space through windows. The exhibition runs until the 9th at KCDF Gallery, Insadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.