Kohei Kyomori

Installation View

Whitestone Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Korea by Japanese artist Kohei Kyomori, titled “Decor is Painless Domination”, from August 31 to October 13, 2024. Kyomori has consistently explored the culture of decoration within social and historical contexts, examining the new values of visual culture. This exhibition further expands his contemplation of decoration, examining the compulsions it embodies, the pressure it exerts on visual perception, and the essence concealed behind its violent beauty.

Installation View

The title “Decor is Painless Domination” captures the epistemology of decoration that Kyomori, who began his career in fashion and commercial design, has ultimately arrived at. In the world of commercial design and mass media, specific images are incessantly injected into the consciousness of consumers through repetition and volume, leading to the unconscious formation of stereotypical shared images. Kyomori points out that “the audience doesn’t feel pain, making it difficult to resist,” suggesting that the distortion of perception through visual communication has been occurring via decoration long before the modern and contemporary eras.

O worship_Mineral pigments, UV resin on canvas_320.0×360.0×3.0cm_2024

B1F

Kyomori’s painting series is divided into the “O” and the “M” series, each addressing the relationship between decoration and themes such as religious belief and social status. The artist explores the “manipulation of specific images through decoration,” using motifs like treasures, ornaments, headpieces, medals, and swords, which are collaged and finished with resin. The “O” series, particularly showcased in the basement gallery space, features new works that adopt an altarpiece structure, exploring the function of ornamentation within religious culture and society. These works not only pursue the solemnity of religious art but also explore how decoration conveys reverence and authority.

S Ume #4_Mineral pigments, UV resin on canvas_41.0×64.0×2.0cm_2024

2F

On the second floor, another painting series titled “S,” which reinterprets the concept of decoration, will be on display. These new works, created with ink and resin, aim to speak to the superficial power of image manipulation inherent in decoration—what Kyomori refers to as the “power of decoration.” The “S” stands for “Simuler,” the first letter of the French word that hints at “Simulacra” and “Simulation.” Kyomori suggests that one of the central elements of decoration is “appearance.” The flowers and trees painted in ink are extensively covered with resin, gradually becoming “paintings,” but not from the traditional pictorial viewpoint of line drawing, perspective, or materiality. Instead, they generate new value within the ornamental structure that Kyomori envisions.

Installation View

4F

Kyomori’s first installation work, Decorative Relationships 001, will be featured on the fourth floor. This work represents the culmination of his recent reflections, where the densely packed scale-shaped works overwhelm the space, offering the viewer an intense visual experience. The overwhelming visual experience, when faced with the vast patterns on the scales, becomes almost intimidating and obsessive, evoking a sense of violence that threatens to sweep away individual consciousness. In the exhibition space, an ominous dialogue continuously echoes, where one voice asks, “Do you agree?” and the other replies, “Yes, I agree.” The countless scales create a visual compulsion for the viewer, while the dialogue reinforces an auditory sense of coercive pressure. This, Kyomori argues, is the fundamental nature of decorative arts—a hidden force of brainwashing or what he calls “painless domination.” Drawing on the social psychology concept of “social proof,” where individuals align their decisions with the majority, Kyomori metaphorically expresses the process by which individuals conform to collective opinions. He emphasizes that the power to distort perception and alter consciousness is the essence of decoration, reminding us once again of the pervasive influence that decoration has had throughout human history—the theme of this exhibition, “Decoration is painless domination.”

Whitestone Gallery
70 Sowol-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 04326, Korea
02-318-1012

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