2009 Biennale footnotes

by Philip Gowman on 10 November, 2009

in Exhibition reviews and comment, Lee Hye-rim, Venice Biennale 2009

Three Korean-born artists had solo shows at the 2009 Venice Biennale: Haegue Yang in the national pavillion, and Woojung Chun and Atta Kim as collateral events.

In LKL’s brief sojourn in Venice, it was not possible to get around all the Korean participants in various group shows, but for the record, they were:

1: Lim Won-ju in Detournement Venise 2009. No images available.

2: Lee Hye-rim in Glass Stress. A visitor captured one of Lee’s contributions and posted it on YouTube. Marginally unsafe for work:
YouTube Preview Image

The following photo of Lee’s contribution is sourced from the Starkwhite blog

Lee Hye-rim from the Crystal City series, 2008, C-type photograph

Lee Hye-rim from the Crystal City series, 2008, C-type photograph

3: Kim Minjung in “Sant’ Elena: Seduction into the Sign” – a show based on the dialogue between the installation of Richard Nonas and the works of five women artists:

Minjung Kim

Minjung Kim

Photo Credit: Dalbera

Koo Jeong-a: A Reality Upgrade & End Alone (2009) - 3,000 Rhinestones

Koo Jeong-a: A Reality Upgrade & End Alone (2009) - 3,000 Rhinestones

4: Finally, Koo Jeong-a had two installations, one in the main Giardini and one in the Arsenale. The Giardini installation, entitled A Reality Upgrade & End Alone (2009) involved 3,000 rhinestones embedded in a lawn. They were unfortunately completely invisible even if you knew what you were looking for – maybe by the time I visited either the tourists had pocketed them all as souvenirs or they had just been trampled into the mud. Or maybe they were hidden under the autumn leaves. I emailed Koo’s gallery after I visited the Biennale, and they confirmed that the rhinestones were still there, in the soil, somewhere.

Koo’s installation in the Arsenale, Fantasissima & Fantasissimus (2009), was easier to find. A sculpture that looked like a tree that was about to turn into one of Tolkein’s Ents.

Koo Jeong-a: Fantasissima & Fantasissimus (2009) - Mixed media, sound

Koo Jeong-a: Fantasissima & Fantasissimus (2009) - Mixed media, sound

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