Gallery Ung, Professor Emeritus Park Gwan-wook of Inha University Solo Exhibition 'Verum Ipsum Factum'

Exhibition view of Park Gwan-wook's solo exhibition 'Verum Ipsum Factum'
Photo by Gallery Woong

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Gallery Ung is hosting a solo exhibition by Professor Emeritus Park Gwanwook of Inha University titled 'Park Gwanwook 2006/2020: Verum Ipsum Factum (G.Vico 1668-1744)' until January 9.

This is Professor Park Gwanwook's first solo exhibition in four years since 2016. The exhibition features a total of 31 works, including installation and flat works that embody Park's unique imagination and experimental characteristics with various materials such as silver leaf, brass, and zinc, as well as newly presented canvas works in the form of a 'Hexagon.'

The exhibition title 'Verum Ipsum Factum' is a phrase used by the Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668?1744), meaning 'truth is made.' The '2006/2020' indicates the years the works were created.

Most of the works presented in this exhibition were created around 2020, but the artist also specifies 2006 as an important connection point in his current work. The artist stated, "One of the important concepts in contemporary art is the process of creation. It means not only following the original intention before the work but also including ideas and random elements discovered during the creative journey, developing them interestingly."

In this exhibition, Park Gwanwook mainly expresses three interests. First, the 'form or shape of art' to escape clich? or boredom in traditional expression methods; second, the 'contradictory concept' that expresses not only elegance and beauty but also the opposite artistic values such as ugliness, horror, and dirtiness, moving beyond merely depicting simple external beauty; and third, 'anthropomorphism,' which attempts to visually express the similarities and relationships between humans and animals, as well as the universe and extraterrestrials. The artist explains, "The subject of astronauts represents a universal form free from global values, norms, and hypocrisy, symbolizing that conceptually and physically, we are all astronauts."

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