Yu Kawashima

Installation View of ‘YU KAWASHIMA: PATHOS’ at Whitestone Gallery. Credit by photographer Hongsuk Kim 

In his first solo exhibition in Korea titled Pathos, Kawashima wishes to present the emotion of humans’ tendency to bounce off the anxiety in front of us and try to live. Modern society is overflowing with visual information media such as television, magazines and SNS.

Kawashima Yu, Charmer, Platinum foil, silver leaf, mineral pigments, ink on hemp paper, 97.0 x 193.9 cm, 2023

Having spent his childhood in the countryside, there was a hidden discomfort in the artificial and inorganic world deep inside Kawashima’s heart, and he harbored vague concerns about the future along with the changes of the times and the anxious energy of contemporary society.

Kawashima Yu, Erosion, Silver leaf, mineral pigments, ink on hemp paper, 72.7 x 50.0, 2023

In the face of today’s pervasive uncertainty, dominated by an indefinite anxiety, Kawashima advocates for a collective reexamination of oneself and the surrounding environment. For the artist, the act of drawing becomes a transformative and introspective journey, offering a medium to navigate the complexities of these chaotic times. In the exhibition, Kawashima invites viewers to join him in expressing inner selves visually as a profound means of exploring and understanding one’s existence amid the tumultuous currents of the present.

Whitestone Gallery
70 Sowol-ro, Yongsan-ku, Seoul
02-318-1012

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