NyLon: London-New York Exchange Exhibition

An interesting transatlantic collaboration forms the basis of the current exhibition at the KCC:

Exhibition Dates: 25 October 2011 – 26 November 2011
Private View: Tuesday 25 October 2011, 6.30pm

The Korean Cultural Centre UK and the Korean Cultural Service New York present

NyLon: London – New York Exchange Exhibition

This collaboration features four contemporary artists based in London and New York: Je BAAK, Meekyoung SHIN, Buhm HONG and Jean SHIN.

From 25 October 2011 to 26 November 2011 the exhibition NyLon: London-New York Exchange Exhibition brings together four Korean artists based in London and New York. As it marks our first exchange exhibition with the Korean Cultural Service New York, NyLon attempts to pave a new way for these two institutions to promote Korean artists on the global art scene.

Our four exciting artists Meekyoung SHIN, Je BAAK, Buhm HONG and Jean SHIN explore a range of cross-cultural influences through their work, inspired by their lives in two of the world’s leading cultural capitals. The works of four artists present multi-faceted and diverse interests and aspects of contemporary art produced in the two cities, sometimes in parallel and at other times crossing paths.

Four artists were selected by the local advisory panels, consisted of Ralph Rugoff, the Director of the Hayward Gallery and Dr. Sook-Kyung Lee, the first Korean curator at the Tate. The works of these artists will also be exhibited at the Korean Cultural Service New York, from 16 November 2011 to 16 December 2011.

The participating artists and their artworks for the exhibition NyLon: London-New York Exchange Exhibition are, in alphabetical order:

1. Je BAAK

Je Baak’s practice is his way of translating Zen Buddhism in a contemporary context. He is trying to give audiences the chance to have the moment of enlightenment that we are very familiar with. In the Structure of, he explores two artificially generated extreme emotions – FEAR and PLEASURE – through a collage of different thrill rides. He generates the emptiness between them and examines how endless repetition changes thrill into pain. They look beautiful and scary, enjoyable and painful at the same time.

Birth (2011), this new project expresses the instant existence through relationship as an extension of Je Baak’s continuous exploration on instant/eternity, existence/absence and meaning/meaninglessness. By using a thermographic camera, he visualises the object through heat conducted by his touch. It exists only for a moment before disappearing. His continuous movement attempts to maintain its existence creating a form of sculpture or painting through his body heat.

2. Buhm HONG

Through his installations and video presentation, Buhm Hong investigates ways in which physical environments inform and influence the construction of illusion, memory and, ultimately, the self. Using digital video compositing and other narrative strategies, he skillfully juxtaposes seemingly disparate elements to awaken the viewer from a “perceptual slumber.” He then articulates another step by taking his videos and translating them into three dimensional sculptures that appear as real illusions. Hong’s installation, Hide & Seek (2010-11) allures and reminds all who see them of an imaginative, secret place of childhood. A cellar with exposed pipes in an old apartment building in Manhattan transforms into a place of unique tales told by unknown creatures. His detailed and mysterious works beckon viewers into the unfamiliar experience of visiting a familiar space.

3. Jean SHIN

Jean Shin is nationally recognized for her monumental installations that transform everyday objects into elegant expressions of identity and community. She has had solo exhibitions at MoMA New York and the Smithsonian American Art Museum and will be expanding her spectrum in London. For each project, she amasses vast collections of a particular object—prescription pill bottles, sports trophies, sweaters—which are often sourced through donations from individuals in a participating community. These intimate objects then become the materials for her conceptually rich sculptures, videos and site-specific installations. Distinguished by her meticulous, labor-intensive process, and her engagement of community, Shin’s arresting installations reflect individuals’ personal lives as well as collective issues that we face as a society. For this exhibition, Shin will created a wall of mosaic with 2,105 commander keys, repeating – shift, clear, Backspace, enter – representing the mindset of the contemporary computer age.

4. Meekyoung SHIN

Meekyoung SHIN developed the concept of translation when her initial artistic training in Korea was given a new perspective by moving to Europe.

By rendering the precious objects in a seemingly fragile and transient material such as soap, Shin questions the authority and originality of the old artefacts. The cultural translation occurs through this process of replication and copying. The translation is a multi-layered device in her work. A direct translation from one language to another, still it deals with the idea of ‘slippage’, which cannot perfectly deliver. The linguistic translation is now open to the periodic and cultural dimensions of the visual art world. Shin’s Ghost series is created in the same form as the Translation series, but made out of a transparent material. It is a realization of slippage; it is the same but still a different creature, the substitute of the original.

Shin’s recent solo exhibition at the prestigious Haunch of Venison Gallery in London delighted the crowds with over 300 pieces. For this exhibition, Shin will be introducing her new works, including Korea’s National Treasure Vase Series and the Reference series.

(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.