[Exhibition of the Week] Won Beom-sik 'Architectural Sculpture Original Ground: That Romantic Art' · Kim Min-ho 'Expansion of Existence' etc.

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

▲ Won Beom-sik Solo Exhibition 'Architectural Sculpture Original Ground ? That Romantic Art' = The Trinity at Grand Hyatt Seoul is hosting the solo exhibition 'Architectural Sculpture Original Ground ? That Romantic Art' by artist Won Beom-sik. Won Beom-sik, who extensively studied craft art, photography, and fine art media, has presented a series called ‘Architectural Sculpture.’ He has received the Ilwoo Photography Award, the most prestigious photography prize in Korea, and internationally, he was a finalist for the British Photographer Association Award, gaining attention in both domestic and international art scenes.

Won Beom-sik_archisculpture010_2012_70x100or120x171cm
Photo by The Trinity

The artist’s ‘Architectural Sculpture’ is a work where he analyzes and meticulously collages various architectural structures he personally photographed and collected, much like a collector classifying and organizing their collection. Various buildings with socio-historical symbolism come together to be reborn as a beautiful single sculptural artwork.

The exhibition title is ‘Architectural Sculpture Original Ground,’ with the subtitle ‘That Romantic Art.’ While his past works highlighted the sculptural meaning of architectural sculpture against simple natural backgrounds like grass, this exhibition focuses more on expressing the socio-cultural context embedded in the architecture and the significance of the places where the buildings were constructed. Everyday elements such as road lane markings, construction materials, signs, traffic lights, cars, and pedestrians connect with the architectural sculptures to create a documentary rich in factual detail.

Won Beom-sik archisculpture050c_2016_100x70or171x120cm. [Photo by The Trinity]

The artist explains, “Architectural sculpture assembles the symbolism contained in the material of architecture to create a virtual sculptural work, drawing out perceptions of beauty that exist within the human inner self. Ultimately, it generates diverse feelings and thoughts in the viewer’s mind. According to Hegel’s aesthetics, which divides art genres based on the ratio of reality (material) and concept (spirit) composing the artwork?architecture as symbolic, sculpture as classical, and painting or poetry as romantic?‘Architectural Sculpture,’ which materializes architectural structures into sculptural works and emphasizes the emergent spirit within, transcends symbolic and classical categories and is already romantic architectural sculpture.” The exhibition runs until the 29th at The Trinity at Grand Hyatt Seoul, Sowol-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Ease, Don't Series 11.
Photo by CDA

▲ Yyth Solo Exhibition 'Don’t' = Seongsu-dong CDA is hosting the solo exhibition 'Don’t' by artist Yyth. The artist fragments and transfers to images moments that supported him during chaotic past times.

The artist aims to confront the essential reality of the subject. The subject he sought to reach through labor-intensive 'drawing' exists in reality but has no substance; it resides in the past time that once threw him into confusion. There were times when dusty, old memories that might have been forgotten over time occasionally surfaced, and he consistently turned away. Foolishly, he thought that was acceptable at the time. For the artist, this exhibition and the works, which he quietly accumulated over more than two years, hold a reflective character as an approach to the substantial subject he faced (or had to face) and as a tool for forgetting (or mourning) through painting.

Yyth, Don’t Series 08, 2024, Mixed Media on Canvas, 89.4 x 130.3cm [Photo by CDA]

The artist collects multifaceted images symbolizing the era and reconstructs them by fragmenting and editing to fill the canvas. Most of the images he referenced coexisted with the subject he sought to confront through painting. This is why his canvases evoke cartoons and animations from the 1980s and 1990s. Although seemingly flat, the subtle differences in texture produced by each color and surface are interpreted as an expressive method intended to reveal the multilayered aspects of the subject he aimed to reach through painting.

Additionally, the exhibition space displays a mix of typical rectangular frames alongside irregularly shaped canvases arranged in a disorderly manner. This appears to be the artist’s unique life fragments, deviating from conventional categories usually considered ordinary and stable. It signifies imperfection and instability arising from ‘difference’ while highlighting the artist’s individuality and originality that do not rely on established systems.

Yyth, Don’t Series 02, 2024, Mixed Media on Canvas, 80.0 x 116.6cm
[Photo by CDA]

Having finally confronted himself through his work, Yyth now settles on the gallery walls to face visitors and their surroundings. He says, “I fragmented moments that supported me even amid past chaos and visualized those fragments as images.” He cautiously hopes that some viewers will share and experience the series of reflections he underwent. The exhibition title and theme ‘Don’t’ carries the message not to judge oneself or fear anything. The artist says this is also a comfort he offers himself. This wish will soon reach all visitors through the works. The exhibition runs until the 30th at CDA, Achasan-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul.

Willow Tree by the Han River - Expanded Existence 1 45x60cm Line Etching Collage 2024.
[Photo by Seochon TYA]

▲ Kim Min-ho Solo Exhibition 'Seongchal Jimok (省察之木) - Expansion of Existence' = Kim Min-ho’s solo exhibition 'Seongchal Jimok (省察之木) - Expansion of Existence' is being held at Seochon TYA Gallery. This exhibition uses washi (和紙, traditional Japanese paper) and copperplate print techniques to ambiguously express the boundary between nature and existence, treating trees as an important symbol exploring the essence of existence.

In the works, lines are the fundamental elements expressing existence. As a method of representing natural objects, lines have directionality and imply position, speed, and energy. In the process of stacking short, thin lines to form tree trunks and branches, the artist explores these lines as the smallest units of existence and elements containing vitality. The exhibition reminds viewers how artificial the boundary between nature and existence is and encourages discovering the possibility of existence that changes beyond fixed meanings.

Trees by the Han River - Expanded Existence 3 18x30cm Line Etching Collage 2024.
Photo by Seochon TYA

Copperplate printing has many limitations in application due to the nature of the material. The artist explains that to overcome this, he printed on very thin, elegant, and tough washi paper using existing plates and then collaged the prints. He says, “Washi is delicately printed yet highly transparent, so when attached to other paper, the physicality of the thin paper almost disappears, creating an effect as if it were printed directly. This characteristic enhances the natural connectivity between images in collage work.”

Regarding the tree forms in the works, the artist says they no longer represent fixed subjects of reproduction but reveal themselves as beings with potential power to constantly change and become something else. He defines, “The movement of lines seen in the works expands beyond existing structures and meanings into new meanings and forms, like Deleuze’s ‘line of flight.’ This is not a mere transformation of form but reveals the generative essence of existence itself.”

This exhibition offers viewers an opportunity to look at trees and the world from a new perspective beyond existing boundaries. The exhibition runs until the 24th at Seochon TYA, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.