[This Week's Exhibitions] Shin Sunmi Solo Exhibition 'Hwashilsosa' · Choi Jaehyuk Solo Exhibition 'BY YOUR SIDE' and More

Still Life_40_oil on canvas_195.3x90.9cm_2017_E. Geumsan Gallery

Choi Jaehyuk Solo Exhibition 'BY YOUR SIDE'

The solo exhibition 'BY YOUR SIDE' by Choi Jaehyuk, held at Geumsan Gallery, examines the traces and textures of memory left by time through old objects and everyday items. The artist does not view still life simply as objects, but as entities that have accumulated meaning through the course of life. White porcelain, wooden furniture, crafts, flowers, and fruit are placed together on the same canvas, quietly layering the past and present.

Still life_188 (Small Fruit Painting)_oil on canvas_53.0x40.9Cm_2025_E. Geumsan Gallery

The impression of this exhibition lies in the temporality inherent in the objects themselves, rather than in any elaborate presentation. Choi Jaehyuk contemporizes the forms of 'Gimyeongjeolji' and 'Chaekgado', expanding the sensibility of still life painting with compositions that juxtapose multiple perspectives. While Western still life has traditionally evoked themes of transience and futility, his paintings trace the persistence of life and the warmth of relationships accumulated within objects.

In particular, the 'Small Fruit Painting' series succinctly demonstrates the coexistence of different times by placing contemporary fruit atop old white porcelain bowls. This exhibition invites viewers to rediscover the value of things that are close at hand, rather than distant or extraordinary. The exhibition runs from March 26 to April 24 at Geumsan Gallery in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Sinsunmi_Color Painting Story_162.2x130.3cm x3ea_2026-2. The Trinity

Shin Sunmi Solo Exhibition 'Hwashilsosa: A Brief History of the Studio'

In this exhibition, Shin Sunmi's studio is no longer just a private space for work. The solo exhibition 'Hwashilsosa: A Brief History of the Studio' at The Trinity Gallery brings the artist's studio onto the stage, unveiling the time, manual labor, and the imagination of the beings within her paintings.

At the center of the exhibition is the new work 'Color Painting Story'. Surrounding it, both previously released and new works are arranged, creating a scene as if the characters and fairies from the paintings have stepped out of the frame to join the artist in her process. The innocence, fantasy, and folktale sensibility Shin Sunmi has long depicted now meet the concrete setting of the studio, expanding into a warmer and more multi-dimensional narrative.

Sunsun Mi_Deokhye 3_Color on paper_95.5x79.5cm_2024. The Trinity

Shin Sunmi's paintings layer contemporary sensibility on top of traditional East Asian painting techniques. The method of applying color dozens of times on hanji (traditional Korean paper) leaves a record of time on the canvas, and that time is more than just an accumulation of technique. Works such as 'Girl Jayoung', the 'Once upon a time' series, 'Deokhye 3', and 'Meeting Again 11' quietly evoke emotions where waiting and meeting, comfort and longing, and reality and fantasy intersect. Her figures are composed, but the scenes are not static; they are tranquil, yet the grain of the story lingers on.

Above all, this exhibition leaves a light but clear resonance by presenting the time spent completing a painting as a narrative in itself. The studio is depicted as both a site of arduous work and a place of imagination where the artist plays alongside the beings she has created. Shin Sunmi does not force explanations but instead gently reveals this process through the texture of color, the gaze of her figures, and the movements of tiny fairies within the canvas. Thus, rather than emphasizing the tradition of Korean colored painting, this exhibition quietly attests to the living, moving time of painting itself. The exhibition runs until April 24 at The Trinity Gallery in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Formosa Project (Chulcho), 2024 mixed media & archival pigment on paper, 300x201cm. Choi & Choi Gallery

Nahyun Solo Exhibition 'It's Nothing'

The first exhibition presented by Choi&Choi Gallery Seoul since its relocation to Yeonhui-dong is the solo exhibition 'It's Nothing' by Nahyun. At the center of the gallery is the large installation 'Finding Bigfoot', surrounded by 'Formosa Project', 'Walnut Babel Tower', 'Nanji-do Naturalized Plants', and the video work 'Arbol'. The issues of history and memory, language and translation, ethnicity and identity, which the artist has long engaged with, unfold across installations, records, and video works.

The piece that first draws the eye is, of course, 'Finding Bigfoot'. Although it borrows a mythological form, the work's focus is not on imaginary monsters, but on those easily erased from history. As the press release notes, it connects events from different places and resurrects traces that have been forgotten or deleted. In the actual exhibition, this is conveyed not by exaggerating its weight, but rather by emphasizing its physical presence.

Finding Bigfoot, 2021, Inflatable sculpture installation, dimensions variable. Choi & Choi Gallery

The other works prevent the exhibition from being interpreted in only one way. 'Formosa Project' begins with the views of nature held by Taiwan's Taroko and Paiwan peoples, exploring the balance between humans and the environment and the order of community. 'Walnut Babel Tower' and 'Nanji-do Naturalized Plants' broaden the discussion to issues of language differentiation, migration and settlement, ecology, and society. Including the video 'Arbol', filmed in Cuba, it becomes even clearer that Nahyun's interest does not remain fixed on the narrative of a single place, but extends along the paths of people and plants, records and migration.

Rather than giving the impression of being difficult, the exhibition invites viewers to linger over small traces for a long time. Rather than delivering a completed message all at once, it slowly pieces together fragments left between record and oblivion. As the first exhibition in the new space, this show naturally aligns with the direction of Choi&Choi as it embarks on a new beginning in Yeonhui-dong. The exhibition runs until April 19 at Choi&Choi Gallery in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

Polaris #4314, 2026 Archival Pigment Print on Hanji 140 x 76 cm. Gallery 508

Jang Minseung Solo Exhibition 'Polaris'

Gallery 508 is presenting 'Polaris', a solo exhibition by Jang Minseung. The exhibition is centered on the new 'Polaris' series, which features photographs of the snowy fields of Hallasan Mountain. Here, the artist brings together themes he has explored for many years—climate, nature, and traces of modern Korean history—within the frozen frame of photography. This is also his first solo exhibition focusing on photography in approximately 16 years, since 2010.

The central work, 'Polaris', takes its title from the star that guides lost travelers, yet there is no star present on the canvas. The winter in Hallasan that Jang Minseung encounters is a scene of whiteout, where snowstorms, fog, and snowfall blur the boundaries between sky and earth. What remains are snow-covered volcanic rocks, and only the surfaces of a landscape that has lost its sense of direction are revealed. Rather than describing majestic snowy vistas, the artist clings to the forms that ultimately persist when all points of reference have disappeared.

Storm Warning Listen, 2026 Archival Pigment Print on Hanji 200 x 140 cm. Gallery 508

The accompanying works—'Return to Sender', 'Storm Warning Listen', and 'Over There Somewhere Everywhere'—extend this perspective to the sea and shore. Fragments of glass embedded in the sand, the nighttime sea under a storm warning, and records of unidentifiable coastlines do not explain events, but rather capture the sensations of erosion and isolation left by time. This is not an exhibition that simply recreates landscapes. Instead, it is a moment of recalling the surfaces and traces left after vanished events through photography. The exhibition runs until April 30 at Gallery 508 in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

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