Suki Seokyeong Kang
Tradition is about thinking about the present more deeply.*
—Suki Seokyeong Kang
Tina Kim Gallery is pleased to announce Suki Seokyeong Kang, the gallery’s second solo exhibition of leading South Korean contemporary artist Suki Seokyeong Kang, opening May 2 and running through June 15, 2024. Expanding on the themes that characterize Kang’s critically acclaimed multimedia practice, the exhibition will include works never before seen in New York, many of which were specifically created for her major 2023 solo exhibition, Willow Drum Oriole, held at the Leeum Museum of Art, in Seoul.
The theme of being present connects the diverse works in this exhibition. Kang’s practice centers on the exploration of tension, boundaries, and balance. Her paintings and sculptures negotiate a harmony between old and new, reinterpreting traditional art forms like Jeongganbo and Chunaengmu in contemporary contexts.1 References to the four seasons, works evoking sound and movement, and the balancing of near and far views create a sense of wholeness and inevitability, asking viewers to find peace and presence in the here and now.
On view in the gallery are works from Kang’s celebrated series Jeong, Mat, Narrow Meadow, and Mora, as well as two new sculpture series, Mountain and Column. For each of these bodies of work, she has developed a distinct formal vocabulary that combines traditional techniques with specific materials to create dynamic forms inspired by Korean culture yet deeply engaged with contemporary social issues and art history. Rooted in her training as a traditional painter, Kang’s works explore how, despite our many differences, we remain connected. In focusing on how ideas of the past manifest today, Kang employs the traditional concept of “Jinkyung,” or “true-view,” painting, which seeks to represent the essence of the subject through the principle of shared symbolism. In this way, her work frames what she describes as “the beautiful moment of sharing time,” assisting us in being present in a space where “we can constantly reconcile imbalances and conflicts and achieve complete harmony with each other.”
* Quoted in Connie Butler, “The Subtle Smile: Suki Seokyeong Kang’s Sympathetic Object,” in Willow Drum Oriole (Seoul: Leeum Museum of Art, 2023). All quotes by the artist are from this exhibition catalogue.
1 Jeongganbo is a type of musical notation dating back to the Joseon dynasty, in which the duration and pitch of sounds are notated within a square grid shaped like the character “Jeong” (井). Chunaengmu, or the Dance of the Spring Oriole, is a solo Korean court dance that originated during the later period of the Joseon dynasty.
