[This Week's Exhibitions] Jung Dawoon Solo Show 'Spatial Harmonies', Petrit Halilaj 'Abetare', and More

Editor's NoteThis week's exhibitions present a curated selection of diverse and captivating shows taking place across the country, offering a glimpse into what can be experienced during the week.

▲Jung Dawoon Solo Exhibition 'Spatial Harmonies' = Lina Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition by artist Jung Dawoon titled 'Spatial Harmonies.' The artist refers to her work as 'Fabric Drawing,' which means 'painting with fabric.'

Fabric Drawing #178, 2024, Frame with fabrics, 112x112cm.
Photo by Lina Gallery

For the artist, fabric is a material that has accompanied humanity for a significant amount of time and serves as a source of inspiration for creation. This exhibition features her two-dimensional works, and visitors will also have the opportunity to view the reverse side of the canvas, which is rarely displayed in previous exhibitions.

Rather than using paint, Jung Dawoon fills her canvases with fabrics of various colors. She explains, "It is difficult to mix two or more colors with fabric in the way that paint does, but by layering two or more pieces of fabric, I can create new colors." She continuously contemplates the harmony that emerges from the process of overlapping fabrics with different colors and textures.

Fabric Drawing #163, 2024, Frame with fabrics, 53.0x33.4cm.
Photo by Lina Gallery

In this exhibition, Jung Dawoon mainly presents works that utilize primary colors such as red, blue, green, and yellow. She defines primary colors as "not the easiest to combine, but the most effective for creating pure energy, emotion, and beautiful harmony." At the same time, primary colors are intuitive yet difficult to blend seamlessly. This is reflected in how she projects the structure of society onto fabrics of various colors, including primary colors. In other words, the harmony and contrast observed in the diverse fabrics represent individuals, while the canvas is perceived as the foundational structure where these individuals can come together.

The artist uses primary-colored fabrics to intuitively and gently focus on the stories of "us" that arise from relationships within social structures. The exhibition runs until September 27 at Lina Gallery on Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

'Organic Incense Burner and Incense Container', Joseon Dynasty, National Palace Museum
Photo by Horim Museum

▲Horim Museum Special Exhibition 'Fragrance, As Blue Smoke Rises' = The Seongbo Cultural Foundation's Horim Museum is presenting its second special exhibition, 'Fragrance, As Blue Smoke Rises.' This exhibition highlights the artistic aesthetics of various incense-related tools used in the process of burning incense. Featuring over 170 works across various genres-including actual incense, related paintings, books, ceramics, and metal crafts-the collection includes one National Treasure and eleven Treasures.

In addition to the museum's own collection, the exhibition brings together incense-themed pieces from 17 institutions and private collectors, including the National Museum of Korea, the National Palace Museum, the National Iksan Museum, and the Amorepacific Museum of Art. This gathering is drawing significant interest from both incense enthusiasts and lovers of traditional art.

'Hyanggap Norigae', Joseon Dynasty, 19th century. Horim Museum
Photo by Horim Museum

Korea's incense culture has developed based on close ties with China. Among the many tools used to burn incense, the incense burner stands out for its exceptional form, making it a cultural heritage that exemplifies the beauty and originality of Korean crafts. Unlike previous incense-themed exhibitions that focused solely on incense burners, this show is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of Korea's incense culture by featuring not only actual incense but also a wide range of literature and related paintings. The exhibition runs until December 21 at the Sinsa Branch of the Horim Museum on Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

(Abetare) Snow player, 2024, Bronze, 153×28×80 cm
[Photo by The Page Gallery]

▲Petrit Halilaj 'Abetare (Loja me Topa)' = The Page Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition by Petrit Halilaj, who was selected for the 2024 Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden Commission in New York. Halilaj, a leading artist from Kosovo, made his international debut at the Berlin Biennale in 2010. He captures his childhood experiences of war and displacement in the Balkans through the lens of a child's imagination and fears, inviting audiences into spaces of dreams and imagination through spectacular cut-piece works and site-specific installations.

'Abetare' is the name of an Albanian-language primer for Kosovar children. Since the mid-1990s, when Serbian oppression of the Albanian community intensified, 'Abetare' has become a symbolic book for preserving Albanian cultural traditions. Halilaj, who spent his childhood in Kosovo from 1992 to 1997, was forced to move with his family to a refugee camp due to the outbreak of the Kosovo War in 1997. He gained attention for expressing the terror of war from a child's perspective through a drawing program designed to provide psychological support to children in the refugee camp.

(Abetare) Doodle Ball and Little Football Player, 2024, Bronze, 164×28×66 [Photo by The Page Gallery]

When the artist revisited his hometown of Runik in 2012, the old school building was about to be demolished. In the school, Halilaj discovered green desks and benches that had been used by generations of students since the 1970s, covered with secret fantasies and personal records written in various languages by children. He collected these personal traces-evidence of children's dreams and fears-found in their drawings over the years and reimagined them as drawings, sculptures, and installations.

The Albanian phrase 'Loja me Topa,' meaning 'ball play,' which is the theme of this exhibition, also originates from the school desks. The eleven-member soccer team, born from children's drawings on the green desks of Shot? Galica Elementary School in Runik, consists of a humorous lineup that includes figures ranging from real players to snowmen and animated characters, each expressing a wide spectrum of human emotions. Through scenes of these desk-drawn characters coming to life and playing dynamic ball games in the gallery space, visitors can glimpse the artist's imagination, hope, fears, and universal reflections on life, rooted in his childhood in Kosovo. The exhibition runs until September 21 at The Page Gallery on Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul.