2023. 5. 12 – 6. 19
Kim Chansong, Jeong Jiyoon, Damian Elwes, Chung Soo-young, Brian Rideout, Anna Membrino, Rho Eunjoo, Kim Chaelin

“Reinterpretation,” Seojung Art’s special exhibition for the first half of the year, consists of four themes stemming from the concept of reconstruction. It showcases the works of eight Korean and international artists who explore visual phenomena and the manifestation of inner sensations in a metaphysical way. The narrative of an artwork has always been perceived and interpreted in diverse ways, not only through the physical space that serves as the primary entry point for viewers but also through the multitude of aspects that inhabit it. The artists’ sensoriums, shaped by the process of editing, adapting, and, if necessary, aestheticizing thoughts as a result of “constructed memory,” remind us that our perceptions and reconstructions of everything we encounter are ultimately influenced by our individual experiences. The exhibition theme of “reinterpretation” begins by examining the balance and interplay between the invisible (thought) and the visible (visual products).

On the second floor of the exhibition hall, “Theme 1 – Space, Studio” introduces Damian Elwes, Chung Sooyoung, and Brian Rideout. Damian Elwes recreates and reimagines the studios of renowned Western masters, transforming the private into the public sphere. Elwes sees the space occupied by these individuals not only in a purely physical sense but also as a “sacred” entry point and the birthplace of a school of thought. Also, Chung Sooyoung’s work departs from refined compositions and frames, revealing the private sphere of the individual in an intimate manner and presenting everyday life in a natural way to create new meanings. Various objects in her works are rearranged through Photoshop and computer programming to reveal the artist’s inner world to the viewer. Meanwhile, Brian Rideout employs a method of appropriation in his reconfigurations of contemporary images sourced from online and offline prints. The seemingly still and ordinary images of space in his work embody a moment in time where the immutable and the variable coexist.

‘Theme 2 – Scenery, Image’ delves into the progression of imagery derived from natural objects as it evolves from its intuitive form to a fully abstracted one. For instance, Anna Membrino’s work captures the sense of beauty conveyed by the inner gaze on her canvases by extracting certain features borrowed from nature. Similarly, Rho Eunjoo’s Plant series captures fleeting cityscapes and the ambiguous feelings that arise from incomplete memories through selective—spontaneous—editing. In contrast to the two-dimensional works of the other two painters, Kim Chaelin’s large and small sculptures disrupt the static and tranquil atmosphere. These small sculptures extend the distance between the work and the viewer, inducing the utmost playfulness possible in the limited space, and even demanding the viewer’s engagement for play.

In ‘Theme 3 – Movement’, ‘Theme 4 – Expression’, This theme showcases the work of Kim Chansong, who aims to awaken the non-verbal senses and push them one step further and Jeong Jiyoon’s work to suggest seeing the scenery in daily life with a different perspective by treating it in a monochromatic colors. This fresh and unfamiliar perspective, of the magnified view of a body part painted by the overlapping, and at times bifurcating, strokes of paint, has become a unique language about boundaries for the artist. Additionally, the dripping technique employed by the artist, involving splattering and spilling paint, serves to highlight the distinct materiality and characteristics of the paints that she aims to convey.

The process of reconstruction demonstrated in the works of these eight artists can be described as a journey of finding a single thread amidst the fragmented visual images and weaving it into a coherent whole. They invite viewers to participate in the outcomes of their memories and experiences and expect them to breathe in unison with their paintings and sculptures, abstractions and conceptualizations, and gouache works.

SEOJUNG ART
12, Bongeunsa-ro 47-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
1644-1454

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