2020.9.30 – 11.28
Koo Jeong A

PKM Gallery is proud to present 2O2O, a solo exhibition by Koo Jeong A, an internationally acknowledged artist who is known for her keen observation and wide spectrum of artistic practice. The exhibition, on view from 30 September through 28 November, unveils a selection of 30 latest works by Koo, including paintings, drawings, sculptures and an outdoor skatepark installation. Especially, the artist’s skatepark series has attracted immense attention at diverse international events such as the Triennale Milano and Liverpool Biennial. 2O2O marks Koo’s first solo exhibition to be held at a Korean gallery.

Since the late 1990s, with a belief that ‘nothing is merely ordinary,’ Koo has been incorporating ephemeral everyday objects in her works to whimsically interfere in familiar spaces to highlight the poetic aspect of the mundaneness. Composed of disparate mediums—ranging from still and moving images, sound, to smell—Koo’s artworks allow the coexistence of contrasting states such as visibility and invisibility, the imaginary and actuality, and the existence and nonexistence, thus providing possibilities beyond their boundaries.

2O2O, the title of the exhibition, which can be identified as digits and alphabets as well as a text and a drawing, is related to the phosphorescent skatepark installation at the exhibition entitled “resonance.” Koo’s skatepark installation was first erected on Vassivière Island in 2012 as a project to revitalize the area and to reach out to the younger audience. For her exhibition at PKM, a new skatepark in the shape of big and small cradles will be presented at the garden of PKM+. Both an artwork and a facility open to skateboarders, the skatepark installation will provide an interactive experience as it bridges between a subculture—skateboard culture—and mainstream culture—fine arts. “Seven Stars,” a luminous painting series that reminds of the stars in the deepening autumn sky, is on display at the main exhibition space where the light goes on and off in a repeated time sequence. The series evokes the notion of parallel universe* as it appears differently in the light and dark with its infinite presence defined by the condition and duration of the projected light. These two-dimensional canvases that appear as minimalist paintings under the light, create an illusion of a three-dimensional outer space filled with bright starlight once the lights are off. The paintings will lead the visitors to imagine an unfamiliar space beyond that of a white cube gallery space.

The physical and psychological interplay between the artworks and viewers is an important element in Koo Jeong A’s art practice. In producing magnet sculptures, Koo has been deeply interested in the theory of Magnets by Cedric Price (1934 – 2003). Cedric Price likened the idea of an open building that can adapt to the changing needs of the users to the attracting and repelling property of a magnet. The titles of the magnetic sculptures presented at the show—”88,” “518,” “625,” “911”—are named after significant dates in history. The sculptures, with the titles indicating the shape or the number of magnet units each constitutes, can vary in shapes depending on the location of installation.

The opening hours of the exhibition will be noon to 9 pm to especially allow the visitors to fully appreciate Koo Jeong A’s skatepark painted with phosphorescent pigment in the presence and absence of daylight. In addition to the VR exhibition and online viewing room that will open consecutively on the gallery’s website, there will be a video produced in conjunction with the exhibition. DJ Soulscape, the pioneer of turntablism in Korea who has been a skateboarder, will participate as the sound designer of the video. Furthermore, there will be a guerilla skateboarding event by professional riders. Through the exhibition, PKM gallery aims to offer the wonders of discovering another space beyond our familiar world.

Koo Jeong A, who lives and works across the globe, rose to prominence as an internationally acclaimed artist through her solo exhibitions at Centre Pompidou (Paris, France), Dia Art Foundation, Dia: Beacon (Beacon, USA), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf, Germany), Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Sweden), and Art Sonje Center (Seoul, Korea). She also participated in numerous group shows including the Venice Biennale, São Paulo Biennial, Gwangju Biennale, Guggenheim Museum (New York, USA), Tate Modern (London, UK), Foundation Louis Vuitton (Paris, France), Gropius Bau (Berlin, Germany), Mori Art Museum (Tokyo, Japan), Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon, Korea), and Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea). Koo is currently participating in the Busan Biennale. Koo was a finalist for the Hugo Boss Prize in 2002, has won the Hermes Korean Prize for contemporary art in 2005, and was named as ‘2016 artist of the Year’ by the Korean Cultural Centre UK.

*Parallel universe: A universe theorized as existing in parallel alongside ours. An unknown world in infinite numbers that has been separated from a world and stays in isolation from one another.

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