HADA Contemporary is now hosting its regular summer group show at the Albemarle Gallery:
Korean Collective London 2012
HADA | MAYFAIR
31 MAY – 23 JUNE 2012
HADA CONTEMPORARY is pleased to share a group of works by six Korean artists. The collective show includes a diverse selection of exceptional works by artists Ahn Chulhyun, Hong Sungchul, Je Baak, Lee Jinhan, Lee Kangwook and Park Seungmo. We are particularly enthusiastic about some of the newer works included, as we have carefully selected some interesting and dynamic pieces wide ranging from wall lighting installations, string and wire sculptures, painting and mixed mediums.
Baltimore-based artist Ahn Chulhyun works with fluorescent tube lights, plywood and mirrors to create optical illusions that transcend both time and space. The artist’s rendering of space elicits contemplation into the deep abyss – exploring the physical and spiritual. Chulhyun first began his career painting in an abstract geometric style reflecting layers of paint that created the illusion of depth. His earlier print and painting concepts were further transmitted to his three-dimensional works following his studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art (2002). His recent ‘mirror drawings’ – one of a kind – show light elapsing through hand-drawn lines etched into mirrors, which remain a continuation of his previous working concept of space.
Ahn Chulhyun has had numerous solo exhibitions at C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008).
Hong Sung-chul: String Mirror_C_Body_01-06 (2010). Print on elastic strings, steel frame. 85x85x14cm
Hong Sungchul using various media and modern technology communicates the deep desire for human contact through the use of elastic strings with printed images – most commonly depicting the human body. Following Sungchul’s study of Sculpture in California, he began to experiment with other materials. His most widely known three-dimensional works on elastic string represent two extreme ideas in life: anxiety and release – while elastic string can be flexible, it can also become stiff once tightened. His string concept reflects humanity from the earliest stages of life and can expose that of support or of loneliness.
Hong Sungchul completed his MFA (1996) and BFA (1994) from Hongik University in Seoul, Korea, before completing a second MFA from California Institute of the Arts (2001).
Je Baak: Petitio Principii 001-002 (2011)
Je Baak’s more recent works ‘Petitio Principii’ present photographs of Mondrian’s paintings located in MOMA in New York City. Je Baak’s idea surrounding these photographs incorporate his own personal perspective as he aims to break down all efforts of Modernistic absolute value that Mondrian so obsessively pursued. Through his interpretation, the process Je Baak follows allows opportunity for this value to become processed once again through the creation of the images. The paradox of entrapment the artist continually encounters when working is also titled as the logical fault of the entire process and perspective. The altered perspectives seen in Mondrian’s paintings and through Je Baak’s images once multiplied become totally absent from the value.
Je Baak currently lives and works in Korea. He completed his MA from the Royal College of Art in London (2010) and BFA from Seoul National University (2003).
London-based artist Lee Jinhan expressive paintings pulsate with expansive colours both refined and playful. Jinhan’s experimentation with her works includes gouache, glitter, oil and acrylic for brightly handled grounds comprised with floating objects, sometimes digitalised on the surfaces. Her energetic canvasses explore both the Renaissance representation of perspective and flat object-driven Modernism abandoning the real world.
Lee Jinhan graduated from Hongik University (2006) and received her MFA from Central Saint Martins, London (2008). She is currently in her final year doing her MFA at Goldsmiths in London.
Lee Kang-wook: Untitled 12008 (2012). Mixed media on canvas 60x90cm
Artist Lee Kangwook beautifully champions two undetectable frontiers: endless and restricted space. Biological maps of human cells are fixed to the canvas through layers of various membranes – thin layers of gel and gouache – achieving the slick surface of hospital floors. Overlaid on these faint microscopic bodies are floating celestials, freely drawn and dotted with glittering matter. Employing abstraction on his large-scale canvases, Kangwook addresses two opposing and balancing forces: the microscopic and macroscopic. These major building blocks of our world are not merely juxtaposed, but rather presented complimentary forces that affect us.
Lee Kangwook completed his MFA (2003) and BFA (2001) at Hongik University in Seoul, Korea. His work has been widely recognised in Korea and Japan.
Park Seungmo, most notably known for his wire sculptures forming Buddhist sculptures, musical instruments, and other variable figures, has resumed his creative pattern in relation to existence and illusion. In his newer works, Seungmo’s embarkation through the use of overlapping wire mesh brings to life female images. The wire mesh is cut and re-layered by the artist to materialise some of the women that ‘may’ have appeared in his dreams. His concepts are further explored between what is ‘real’ and what is a ‘dream’ – or what is ‘live’ and what is isn’t live. The striking appearances of these women reflect both grief and thoughtfulness, only further distinguished through their ‘dream-like’ facade.
Park Seungmo has participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide and has had several solo shows with Artside Gallery in Seoul (2005, 2008).
HADA | Mayfair is at Albemarle Gallery, 49 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JR www.hadacontemporary.com/
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