[Gallery Walk] Hot and Cold... This Too Is 'Uju'

Gallery Hyundai 50th Anniversary Special Exhibition 'HYUNDAI 현대 PART II'... Highlighting Korean Art Ahead of Its Time Since the 1980s
Exhibiting Over 70 Works Including Lee Seung-taek's 'Untitled' After 40 Years... Contemporary Foreign Artists' Works Also Presented in the New Building

Gallery Hyundai Lee Seung-taek Photo Installation View [Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The highlight of Gallery Hyundai's 50th anniversary special exhibition 'HYUNDAI 50' Part 1 (April 22?May 31) was Kim Whanki's 1971 work 'Universe.' This piece set a new record as the highest price ever achieved for Korean artwork at auction, selling for 88 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 13.76 billion KRW) at Christie's Hong Kong auction on November 23 last year.

In the second part of the 'HYUNDAI 50' exhibition, which opened on the 12th, Gallery Hyundai presents another universe. The exhibition itself feels like it transcends time and space, encompassing the vast totality of contemporary art.

In the second part of the exhibition, Gallery Hyundai sheds light on Korea's pioneering experimental art and showcases notable contemporary artworks from both domestic and international artists. Over 70 works by 16 Korean artists (and teams) who have been associated with Gallery Hyundai since the mid-1980s, along with 13 overseas artists, are on display.

At Gallery Hyundai's main building, visitors can encounter works by Lee Seung-taek (88), Kwak Duk-jun (83), Park Hyun-ki (1942?2000), Lee Gun-yong (78), and Lee Kang-so (77), who blossomed the flower of Korean experimental art. These five artists began their active careers in the late 1960s to early and mid-1970s, a period when groups pursuing new experimental art such as the 'Korean Avant-Garde Association' and the 'Fourth Group' emerged one after another.

Photograph of Hyunki Park's 'Water Tilting' performance, 1979/2018, C-print, each 60x50 cm
[Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

The activity periods of these groups were very brief. Over the past decade, Gallery Hyundai has held exhibitions featuring key artists involved in these groups, illuminating a history of Korean contemporary art that might have otherwise been overlooked. In 2010, the gallery held a 10th-anniversary retrospective of Park Hyun-ki, a pioneer of Korean video art, and in 2017, it presented Park Hyun-ki's solo exhibition 'Visible and Invisible.' In 2016, it organized Lee Gun-yong's solo exhibition 'Event-Logical,' and in 2018, Lee Kang-so's solo exhibition 'Extinction.'

These efforts culminated in significant achievements: Lee Seung-taek's 'Godratdol (1958)' was acquired by the Tate Museum in the UK in 2013, Lee Gun-yong's performance photograph 'Logic of Place (1975)' was also acquired by Tate in 2016, and Park Hyun-ki's representative work 'Untitled (TV Stone Tower, 1978)' was collected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2018.

Upon entering the main building, visitors can see Lee Seung-taek's 'Untitled,' revealed again after about 40 years, along with photographs documenting his experimental outdoor installations and performances from the 1960s through the 1990s. Lee Seung-taek actively utilized 'non-sculptural' materials such as Onggi (traditional Korean earthenware), Godratdol (millstones), rope, vinyl, lumber, hanji (traditional Korean paper), and books, breaking away from Western modern sculpture concepts. He even presented large-scale outdoor installations and performances completed by natural forces like wind, water, fire, and smoke. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art plans to hold a large-scale retrospective of Lee Seung-taek this coming November.

Kwak Duk-jun has presented his 'President' series since 1974, which features composite images of the elected president's face and his own face on the cover of the American newsweekly Time during every U.S. presidential election. In this exhibition, visitors can see the last work in the 'President' series, 'Obama and Kwak,' created in 2009.

Gwak Deokjun 'Obama and Gwak', 2009, C-print, 150x105 cm

At Gallery Hyundai's new building, representative works by foreign artists associated with Gallery Hyundai and contemporary Korean artworks are introduced. The 1980s marked Gallery Hyundai's globalization efforts. In March 1981, the gallery consecutively presented exhibitions of Spanish painter Joan Mir? (1893?1983), French painter Marc Chagall (1887?1985) in September of the same year, and British sculptor Henry Moore (1898?1986) in March 1983. In 1987, Gallery Hyundai became the first Korean gallery to participate in an overseas art fair, introducing Korean artists to the international stage at the Chicago Art Fair. In 1997, it held the first retrospective of American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960?1988) in Asia. The Basquiat retrospective received enthusiastic responses overseas, leading to touring exhibitions in Taiwan and Japan.

On the first floor of the new building, visitors can admire the beautiful new work 'Constellations' by Chilean-born artist Iv?n Navarro (48). Navarro is known for his diverse works utilizing light. 'Constellations' is being unveiled for the first time in this exhibition, presenting a spectacular scene as if star constellations are pouring down from the universe. It captures 88 constellations on a single screen, employing lighting and mirrors. One must look closely to fully appreciate the work's true value.

On the second floor of the new building, works by Ai Weiwei and Zheng Fanzhi, currently the hottest artists in China, are exhibited. Gallery Hyundai began introducing works by Chinese artists in 2007 with the establishment of DoArt Beijing. In 2008, Ai Weiwei's solo exhibition attracted significant attention. The gallery also collaborated with German photographer Thomas Struth (56), who visited North Korea and captured scenes of Pyongyang, producing impressive large-scale photographs.

Ai Weiwei 'F Size', 2011, Kang Hyangdan, ø 120 (left), Untitled (Wooden Ball), 2010, Kang Hyangdan, each ø 60 (right)

Jjeong Pan-jeu's 'Untitled', 2011, oil on canvas, 200x200 cm

In the new building's basement, the large new work 'One (A Reply to Dr. Lee)' by Choi Woo-ram (50) evokes a strange beauty. It appears as if a gigantic white flower is slowly blooming and wilting. However, the mechanical device hidden beneath conveys a sense of coldness.

In contrast, Kang Ik-jung's (60) new work 'Things I Know' exudes warmth. Kang Ik-jung combined text works into the shape of a giant moon jar. Each 3×3 inch square wooden panel contains a sentence expressing knowledge and wisdom realized in everyday life. Sentences such as 'If the boss is kind, the employees are kind too' bring cheerful enjoyment. Kang Ik-jung is also the creator of the large-scale work 'Gwanghwamun Arirang,' currently installed in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.

Choi Wooram 'One (A Reply to Dr. Lee)', 2020, Metallic material, soft Tyvek, electronic device (custom CPU board, motor), 250x250(w)x180(d)cm
Photo by Gallery Hyundai

Kang Ik-jung 'Things I Know', 2018-2019, mixed media on wood, variable size
[Photo by Gallery Hyundai]

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