2023. 3. 2 – 4. 15
CEVIGA Kyung Ok Paik Frahm

March 2, 2023 – The Page Gallery holds “CEVIGA: Rainbow Body”, a solo exhibition by CEVIGA Kyung Ok Paik Frahm (b.1960), from March 2, 2023 to April 15, 2023.

This solo exhibition, which showcases Ceviga’s intense abstract and sculptural works, unveils about 40 new works that are full of new rising waves after exhibiting works that projected the pandemic at the 2022 Venice Biennale. In particular, works that pay tribute to the inescapable moment are presented. The works displayed are largely divided into three groups of series: Saltsugar, Spiral Shelter, and Sunshine Soul as well as sculptures of Rainbow Body series with lyrical and witty subtitles. Although the titles of works are different, Ceviga after all concentrates on the moment of awakening as if indulging in salt and sugar with the tip of her tongue, transforms it into works of art, and is trapped in that moment through the works.

Ceviga’s unrivaled abstractions are evocative of a variety of things including cells, alien plants, fruits, and the human body. The fluctuating brushstrokes as if gushing out from the unconscious superego and the mysterious scenery created by the passionate and happy waves contain the artist’s philosophical perspective. The Saltsugar series is based on the principles of the universe that the artist rediscovered in salt and sugar. They are substances that contain the universe in a single grain, and as such, they are assets for human sensory experience. These two substances exist everywhere around us in contrast or complement to each other, and their grains are deeply involved in us both physically and mentally. Salt acts as a guardian that protects us from evil spirits from a religious viewpoint, sugar triggers certain chemical reactions and, together with salt, allows us to preserve nourishment for a long time. Ceviga captures the moment when these minute crystals dissolve, while carefully rendering them as metaphors for life. She says the grains undergoing the process of being refined and dissolved during the long journey through space are like the life that everyone is experiencing on a daily basis.

In the Spiral Shelter series, the inner wave is more prominent, and the combination of the inner world and the outer world passes through a filter called Ceviga to be finally unfolded on the canvas. Representing the permanent spiral movement of nature and humans, the series borrowed from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus’ idea “Everything flows”. Beneath the surface full of distinct gestures and vivid colors is our ever-changing consciousness, awareness and understanding of ourselves.

Another recent series featuring the coexistence of light and dark tones, Sunshine Soul reflects the artist’s temperamental changes as she goes through life.
The Rainbow Body sculptures, the most recent series, is a three-dimensional mapping of the same motifs that make up Ceviga’s paintings. The by-products of the moment the artist shouted “Eureka!”, the moment the rainbow passed over her head, are placed in front of the audience, narrowing the distance between the pictorial space in the canvas and the viewer. While staying in London, Ceviga experienced a mysterious separation between her physical self and her reflection in the mirror in the shower. The physical experience that a showerhead took her to a different dimension of self soon became a moment of realization for the artist. The showerhead derived from her personal experience coils around the sculptures to make them more dynamic.

In this exhibition, the artist proposes to discover the true face of things that shines in a fleeting moment like a rainbow emerging in the sky. From the works, viewers can get a glimpse of the self they feel unwittingly and the universe they discover in the little things of life. Due to a review written by Flavia Frigeri, an art historian who served as curator at Tate Modern and Guggenheim, the exhibition “CEVIGA: Rainbow Body” is drawing more attention. It will be held from March 2nd to April 15th, 2023 at the East Hall of The Page Gallery, and can be viewed after free advance reservation on the NAVER homepage.

THE PAGE GALLERY
32-14, Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Korea
+82 2 3447 0049

WEB     INSTAGRAM     Reservation