Nampyo Kim, Sejoong Kim, Jeongwoong Lee, Changnam Lee, Seonghee Huh

Installation View (1)

Obscura is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Still, Being, opening on April 30th. This exhibition is curated with the intention of capturing reflective moments on human life and nature through the genre of still-life painting. Participating artists include Nampyo Kim, Sejoong Kim, Jeongwoong Lee, Changnam Lee, and Seonghee Huh.

Seonghee Huh, 고결, 2025

Still life, referred to as “Still Life” in English and “Nature Morte” in French, initially appears as a depiction of noble and beautiful subjects. Yet, its essential meaning lies deeper as “still life,” or literally, “dead nature.” Particularly within the tradition of Vanitas still-life painting, profound meditations on life’s transience and the futility of human existence are evoked, representing symbolic messages inherently embedded in the genre itself.

Jeongwoong Lee, Weird Candelabrum, 2025, Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 41 cm

The ancient Roman poet Lucretius once stated, “Omnia morte cadunt, mors ultima linea rerum” (“Everything falls in death; death is the final limit of things.”). In this exhibition, Obscura proposes to the artists themes including nobility, vanity, futility, luxury, stillness, death, life, possession, desire, and nature. Each artist interprets these concepts through their unique artistic languages, offering visitors the opportunity to contemplate the essence of life and the roots of human desire.

Sejoong Kim, Between eternity and moment, 33.8×91㎝, oil on canvas, 2023

Art critic Choe Jeong U describes still-life painting as “paradoxical art that encapsulates the dynamics of becoming within a static frame—a stage of ‘ex-stasis’ itself.” This genre uniquely juxtaposes dualities: life and death, stillness and vitality. Such paradoxical qualities, simultaneously suggesting cessation and abundance, define the inherent artistic appeal and fundamental nature of still-life painting.

Nampyo Kim,, Remember#2, 2025, 116.8x91cm

Through diverse perspectives and visual vocabularies, the works of these five artists transcend mere visual pleasure, prompting philosophical reflection on existence and nature. Still, Being will be on view from April 30th to May 24th at Obscura 3 (Yangjae).

Obscura
164, Seongbuk-ro 23-gil, Seongbuk-gu, 02879, Seoul, South Korea
+82 0507-1374-0407

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