September 18 ~ October 31, 2019
Opening Reception & Preview: Wednesday, Sep 18, 6 pm - 8 pm

Gallery Korea of the Korean Cultural Center New York

The Korean Cultural Center New York is pleased to present the first retrospective of artist Chan S. Chung (1942-1994) who spearheaded the avant-garde art movement in Korea during the 1960s and 1970s. From the late 1980s until his passing in 1994, Chung was based in East Village of New York and Greenpoint of Brooklyn, where his junk art and performances were celebrated and still carry on their legacy today.

In his memory, the Korean Cultural Center New York is presenting a retrospective of Chan S. Chung for the first time since his passing 25 years ago, featuring artworks that he gifted to his friends as well as photographs, videos, and archival material of his studio replete with his junk art. His footsteps as a pioneer of performance and avant-garde art genres in Korea and New York and its impact beyond can be traced in a timeline that covers the time from his birth in 1942 to his lasting impacts through 2018.

Dansaekhwa, the Korean monochrome painting movement that emerged in the 1970s, has been gaining undeniable international attention and momentum in the art world in recent years; concurrently, the avant-garde art of South Korea of the same period has been the subject of renewed attention and active research. Korean museums and galleries have attempted to hold exhibitions of Chan S. Chung, but due to the transitory nature of his performance works and difficulty in procuring his junk art pieces, his collections were either not able to be presented at all or were only partially exhibited as a part of Korean avant-garde exhibitions.

Remembering Chan S. Chung may not be a fully comprehensive retrospective when considering the full scope of artworks and archive materials; however, with the overwhelming support of some of his closest friends including Dae Soo Hahn, Hyung Kee Choi, Jason So, Jae Wee, and Soo-ok Kim and artist colleagues Chong Gon Byun, Young Sup Han, Young Hie Nam, Sung Ho Choi, and Yeong Gill Kim, who did not hesitate to provide never-before-seen materials, this exhibition is ever more meaningful as together, we remember the “oddball genius” that was Chan S. Chung.

This exhibition came into being with many thanks to Chung’s colleagues and friends who deeply cherish their memories with the beloved artist. The KCCNY expresses its sincere gratitude for their support in every stage of its preparation, as this exhibition would not have been possible without their support.

Remembering Chan S. Chung: Interviews with His Friends

Sung Ho Choi 최성호

An artist, cultural activist, and data collector based in New York, Sung Ho Choi and Chan S. Chung first met as alumni of Hongik University. Choi introduced Chung to the studio located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 1983 when the latter moved to New York, and has kept a good relationship with him until Chung passed away. Choi founded Seoro Korean Cultural Network based in Woodside, Queens in 1990 with artist Mo Bahc (Bahc Yiso/1957-2004) and producer Hyejung Park with the aim of researching contemporary visual arts and supporting Korean-American artists in New York.

Dae Soo Hahn 한대수

Known as a vanguard of Korean folk rock in the 1970s, singer-songwriter Dae Soo Hahn was one of Chan S. Chung’s best friends. They had known each other since 1969 when they were both active in Seoul. Later, when Chung was in New York in the 1980s, Hahn organized private parties and social meetings at his house for Chung and his friends.

Hyung Kee Choi 최형기

Hyung Kee Choi is the owner of Gammeeok restaurants in Manhattan, New York and For Lee, New Jersey. In the early 1980s, he opened his first restaurant called Beo-deo-na-mu Jip (meaning ‘house of willows’) in Flushing and maintained a close relationship with Chung since then. Choi supported Chung both mentally and financially to help him advance his career as an artist in New York, and even provided his restaurant space for exhibition purposes. Choi still supports young and mid-career artists in New York and provides his spaces to them for their use.

Young Sup Han & Young Hie Nam 한영섭 & 남영희

Young Sup Han, Young Hie Nam, and Chan S. Chung studied art at Hongik University together. As a married couple, Han and Nam participated in the Nonggol Group Exhibition with Chung, deepening their friendship. They played an important role in encouraging Chung to continue his art practice in New York. The couple also took care of Chung when he passed away in 1994 in Seoul.

Ethan Pettit

Ethan Pettit runs ethan pettit gallery in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He has been involved in the Brooklyn art world since the 1980s and maintains one of the most extensive archives on the Williamsburg scene in the 1990s, including work and documentation of Chan S. Chung.

Chan S. Chung and His Artists Circle in New York

During the 1980s, when Chan S. Chung had moved to New York, the East Village neighborhood was the center of New York’s art scene. For Chung, who preferred working in the underground art world, it was impossible not to be affected by such an atmosphere. The artist was based in Greenpoint of Brooklyn, a bridge away from Manhattan, and this area was popular among artists because rents for studio spaces were lower than those in Manhattan. Consequently, in the 1990s, it became a pivotal site of new underground art.

Soon after Chan S. Chung settled in Greenpoint, Sung Ho Choi, Il Lee, Mo Bahc (Bahc Yiso), Yeong Gill Kim, and other Korean artists moved to this area and began their art practices. Whereas the East Village then was heavily populated by the homeless and drug addicts, Brooklyn had been long established as a home to Jewish, Spanish, and Polish immigrants after the Second World War. It was also the site of many empty factories turned artist studios — here, artists enjoyed open communication as they worked individually yet in a community; they hosted open studio events and parties every weekend, enabling dynamic cultural exchanges between New York artists and international artists. Brooklyn may have appeared to be bleak, but in fact, it was the very site of flourishing avant-garde art, full of passion for the new.

- Excerpts from “Chan S. Chung” and “The New York Avant-garde Art in the 1990s” by Professor Suk Won Chang of Chonnam National University -

Chong Gon Byun (b. 1948)

Born in Daegu, Korea, Chong Gon Byun earned a BFA from Chung-Ang University and an MFA from Keimyung University. He moved to New York and started studying at the Art Students League of New York for three years from 1981 to 1984, building his career as an artist. His works have been exhibited in Japan, Korea, and the U.S. His film Byun:objet Trouve by Marie Losier was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in 2012. His works are collected by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea; the Cleveland Museum, Ohio; the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; and the Albany Museum of Art, Georgia.

Young Sup Han (b. 1941)

Born in Gaecheon, Pyeongannam-do, Korea, Young Sup Han earned a BFA from Hongik University and a Master's degree in the Art Education Department from Dongguk University. He was a professor at Sangmyung University and Hongik University. Han has held solo exhibitions at Art Museum POSCO and Gallery Chosun in Seoul, Korea; Fukui City Art Museum, Japan; Rade Museum, Germany; Remba Gallery, USA; as well as over three hundred group shows in the U.S. and Europe. His works are collected by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Korea; The Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan; Museum Rade, Germany; and the San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas among others.

Young Hie Nam (b. 1943)

Born in Seoul, Korea, Young Hie Nam received her BFA and MFA from Hongik University and debuted as an artist for the first time through the Nonggol Group Exhibition in which she was the only female artist. She has exhibited widely in Korea and Europe including Germany and France. Nam has also held solo shows at Tan-Nan International Art Festival, Japan; the Museum Rade, Germany; and Sabae Contemporary Art Center, Japan. She has also participated in numerous group shows at museums including the Silkeborg Paper Museum, Denmark; Youngeun Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; Whanki Museum, Korea; Salon Comparaisons of Grand Palais, France; and Museum SAN, Korea.

Sung Ho Choi (b. 1954)

Sung Ho Choi was born in Seoul, Korea. After graduating from Hongik University (BFA), he moved to the U.S. in 1981 and earned his MFA at Pratt Institute, New York in 1984. During his forty-year artistic career, he has worked as a culture activist, public art producer, data collector, and art educator. He created and installed “Aeon”, the first outdoor public art of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey in 2019.

Yeong Gill Kim (b. 1957)

After studying Fine Arts in Yeongnam University (BFA) and Hongik University (MFA), Yeong Gill Kim moved to the U.S. He received an MFA from Pratt Institute, continuing his career for thirty years in New York. He has held solo and group exhibitions in New York, Korea, and Shanghai, and his works have been exhibited at the Drawing Center, New York; Gwangju Biennale, Korea; Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Japan; Whanki Museum, Korea; Mexico City Museum, Mexico; and the Korean Cultural Center, New York. His works have also been featured in publications such as The New York Times and Art in America.

Using Junk as Art

As Chan S. Chung settled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in the early 1980s and began his practice in New York, he was influenced by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Joseph Beuys, and David Hammons whose works are renowned for eroding the boundaries between art and life.

During this period, Chung started making junk art for the first time, most of which were kinetic sculptures — he knotted scrap metal pieces with cords instead of welding them together, and then connected the pieces to springs or wheels so that they operate when touched. Some of the pieces had lighting installed inside, and when their switches were turned on, light would shine and music played. Other interactive works included magnetic surfaces where viewers could attach and detach magnets. Although he employed different materials and techniques, Chung's junk art — which collectively held dehumanization in a civilized society as a theme — reflects the methodology and conceptual approach of art in the 1970s in Korea where artists projected themselves onto objects. During an interview for an art magazine in 1987, the artist explained: “Scrap metal pieces, which are wrapped in ropes and are suffocating in crisis, represent myself. They are a revival of my disgraceful days from the past, which I still have not fully recovered from.”

Chung’s unique pieces of Junk Art drew attention from Korean artists living in New York at the time. He participated in Asian American International Video Festival with Nam June Paik at Danceteria Nightclub in 1984 and subsequently held exhibitions Point Blank (October 4 - October 20, 1985), Ruins of Revolution (February 9 - March 2,1986), and Dialogue of Friendship (July 12 - August 4, 1991) at Minor Injury Gallery, an alternative space gallery in Brooklyn that artist Mo Bahc (Bahc Yiso) and Sam Binkley opened in 1985.

Soo Jin Cho. “I Am My Art: The Anti-Art of A Border Rider, Chan S. Chung.”

Journal of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea Vol. 9, The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, 2017.

Woodcut Prints

Chan S. Chung participated in various woodcut print exhibitions with his colleagues including Kulim Kim, Kukjin Kang, Tchah Sup Kim, and Song Burnsoo, and he was honored with a Special Award in Print at the Korean Fine Arts Association (KFAA) in 1979. His works are mostly woodcut prints, with small and even square-like shapes arranged on the picture plane in various compositions, as well as straight or diagonal lines filling the entire space with equal distances apart. Such repetitive, geometric forms can also be found in his early abstract paintings.

During the 1980s in New York, his works primarily consisted of “junk art,” but he also continued making woodcut prints, and these consist most of his posthumous works.

Memory Pieces and Footprints of Chan S. Chung

Chan S. Chung in New York. Photo by Lim Young Kyun

Newspaper and Magazine Articles, Exhibition Materials. Provided by Jae Wee and Ethan Pettit

1982-92 untitled

1987 greenpoint

A Korean Magazine Article About Chan S. Chung

A Korean Newspaper Article About Chan S. Chung and His Works of Kinetic Art at Asian American International Video Festival. Courtesy of Ethan Pettit

Across the Pacific_ Contemporary Korean Art and Contemporary Korean-American Art (October 15, 1993 - January 9, 1994) at Queens Museum of Art, New York, The Sae Gae Times New York