"Unwonted Composite"
June 24-July 22, 2005
Gallery Korea at the Korean Cultural Center New York
(460 Park Ave. 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022)
Opening reception: June 24, 2005 - 6-8 pm
Artists: Diane Carr, Soyeon Cho, SoonOk Jung,
Chaerin Kim, Thomas Lendvai, ChungHwan Park, Ga Hae Park
Gallery Korea of the Korean Cultural Service New York is pleased to announce the exhibition, "Unwonted Composite" from June 24 through July 22, 2005. An opening reception will be held on Friday, June 24 with the artists present.
Unwonted Composite, whose participants are Diane Carr, Soyeon Cho, SoonOk Jung, Chaerin Kim, Thomas Lendvai, ChungHwan Park, and Ga Hae Park, presents their unique viewpoints of our accustomed surroundings. Gigantic structures, eerie and outrageous installations, or high technology, however, are not their interest in the exhibition. The artists explore slightly twisted, subtly varied, or humble yet self-assertive viewpoints of conventional thinking.
Rather than defiantly demanding change, the questions implicit in each work will cause viewers to rethink accustomed environments. Diverse subjects such as traditional painting tools and methodology, visualization of music formation, juxtaposition of materials out of contexts, artificial environments, mimicked nature, and geometry and its perfection are melted into the exhibition, refreshing our eyes.
In the essay for the exhibition, curator Jin Yong Chung states, ¢®¡Æ¢®|variations in perceptions of the visible in the course of time could be generated by the impact of a totally new creation. However, it is also true that subtle changes could have a similar effect on long-term views or in the range of an influence, even minimizing any repulsion¢®|Staying as it does between total reformation and fundamental conservativeness, refreshment of mild variations might not be satisfying to extremists of either viewpoint. However, slightly unwonted variations of the artworks will give a space for different domain of perception, whether viewers ¢®¢çwanted or un-wanted¢®? to see them. Renegotiation of perceptions could happen¢®|¢®¡¾ From the variations, the artists share a possibility of changes of visual perceptions.
Please contact curator Jin Yong Chung for further information at (212) 759-9550 or nyarts@koreanculture.org. Images and artist CVs are available. Further information is also available at the Korean Cultural Service New York website, www.koreanculture.org. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 10 am-7 pm and Saturday 10 am-4 pm. The gallery will close on July 4, Independence Day.
Artists
Diane Carr Discarded objects or industrial materials of mass production are regenerated into artificial nature, in which humor, wit and even mischievous practice are found. Like playing make-believe, in the new artificial environments viewers might sense Wonderland. BA from American University in 1996. MFA from SVA in 2002.
Soyeon Cho Disposables such as plastic spoons, cotton swabs, and Styrofoam peanuts are transformed to an organic sculptural form. Delicate juxtaposition of objects out of their contexts makes flashy colors of disposables and standardized shapes into natural configurations in mysterious compositions. BFA and MFA from Seoul National University in 1998 and 2000. MFA from SVA in 2003.
SoonOk Jung Mechanically organic detail drawings are attached to Plexiglas, and they are installed in layers, making optical illusions. Tiny basic elements linked together become the bulky mass of a huge cell-like creature. BFA from University of Philippines in 1996. MA from NYU in 1999, MFA from CUNY in 2002.
Chaerin Kim Materials in daily life can be great tools for artists to convey their intention. Ms. Kim adds nails and threads to conventional painting materials. Nails allowing depth and threads making paintings layered are combined with graphically schematized yet freely floating patterns. BFA from Dong-Duck Women¢®?s University in 1994. MFA from LIC in 1998.
Thomas Lendvai He approaches his sculptures with raw and traditional materials such as steel and wood. Sharp and precise tension of geometric form is broken down with cutting, angling, and layering. The reformed part is harmonized with the still remaining tension of clear-cut geometry. BA from SUNY at Stony Brook in 1998. MFA from SVA in 2002.
ChungHwan Park The Korean traditional painting method, using ink, mineral color pigments and Korean paper, is purified in his refined abstract paintings. However, his temperate abstraction through softened colors and abstemious space manipulation contrasts with drastic and organic installation which can grow all sides. BFA from Hongik University in 1988. MFA from SVA in 1988.
Ga Hae Park Using music as her inspiration, she creates a conceptual and abstract realm by cutting, shaping, bending, layering and coloring papers. Music formation transformed to the acoustic images stimulates our senses. BFA from Hongik University in 1980. MFA from Pratt Institute in 2000.