A Giant Chandelier Made of Fluorescent Lamps... Lotte Gallery Jamsil 'Running Process' Exhibition

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Lotte Gallery Jamsil AvenueL Art Hall is hosting a two-person exhibition titled "Learning Process" by Penking and K.Whale, the representative artists of the contemporary artist group What the Fun Man (WTFM), until the 26th.

Penking (real name Lee Chung-jin, 36) is an artist and illustrator, and K.Whale (real name Kim Ji-hwan, 36) is a furniture and interior designer. The two are friends who formed WTFM in 2016 together with their friend and art collector Kim Beom-joo.

In the "Learning Process" exhibition, the two artists present about 40 works including drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installations that capture the new tension and synergy arising from the blending of their different artistic fields.

K.Whale mainly presents installation works that deconstruct and recombine elements of existing furniture from a deconstructivist perspective. Through the process of breaking or carving furniture and objects and then playfully recombining them, he explores harmony and balance between chance and necessity. Especially in this exhibition, he installed massive chandeliers made by combining standardized industrial fluorescent lights and tubes produced in factories throughout the exhibition space. The chandeliers emit light, transforming the space into a more poetic and romantic atmosphere. K.Whale’s installations include motion sensors that detect visitors’ movements, causing the chandeliers’ lights to turn on and off repeatedly according to the flow of their paths.

Penking expresses stories about the people, events, relationships, and society surrounding him, as well as his emotional responses and changes over time, through various genres such as drawing, painting, and sculpture. His canvases, densely filled with blue, pink, and purple colors intertwined like wax, create visually intense yet abstractly energetic images.

Both artists have expanded their artistic expression through diverse activities ranging from art and graphic design, interior design, branding, trend research, to exhibition and festival planning. Their work includes exhibitions at galleries and museums both domestically and internationally, collaborations with numerous brands (Kolon Fnc, New Balance, NBA, VANS, etc.), public projects (Seoul Y Valley Project), mural projects, and urban street culture conventions (WTFC, 2019), among others. As their group name suggests, Penking and K.Whale pursue the value of enjoyment above all, challenging new artistic changes and possibilities beyond conventional tastes and fixed methods through collaborations with creators from different fields, while engaging in activities that embody their identities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.