Hare Way Object
Art Plant Asia 2020’s main exhibition Hare Way Object centers around up-and-coming artists, who have demonstrated excellence in their recent practice, and examines the trends of Korean Contemporary Art. Hare Way Object will showcase the works of 33 artists comprising Korean Modern masters, contemporary artists of Korea and other Asian countries in the main halls, corridors, and courtyards of Deoksugung Palace.
One section of the corridor of Hamnyeongjeon will be used to display Modern and Contemporary artworks from postwar and 1970s Korea. The art tendency of the time, mainly characterized by its emphasis on matter and body over reason in the aftermath of the Korean War, will resonate with the synaesthetic expression of postwar art by artists such as Park SooKeun and Kim Whanki who focused on the glorious origins of the past. In Modern and Contemporary room 1, works by Park SooKeun and other artists around the Joo-ho group will be displayed alongside those of Kim Whanki, Kim Heungsou, and Nam Kwan who directly witnessed the Arte Informale movement in Paris. These works will be juxtaposed by the works of contemporary artist Kim Heryun. In Modern and Contemporary room 2, works of 1970s artists Lee Ufan, Park Seo-Bo, Yun Hyong Keun, and Kim Tschangyeul will accompany the hyperrealistic paintings of contemporary artist Kim HongJoo. While Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) embodies the philosophy “unity of object and ego” by means of absentminded repetition, contemporary paintings of Kim HongJoo achieves “the investigation of things” through its elaborate representation of “vivid portrayal(傳神寫照),” a tradition behind Joseon Dynasty portraits. Despite the conflicting styles of figuration and abstraction, the artists in this hall unanimously practiced their Neo-Confucian ideology of investigating the cosmos through the act of painting. In particular, Kim HongJoo’s practice is a unique example of using the trends of Contemporary Art selectively and arbitrarily by freely navigating between traditional Korean theory and Western theory of art, high culture and popular culture, theory and practice.
The contemporary artworks by Korean and other Asian artists will be housed in the halls of Seogeodang, Junmyeongdang, Jeukjodang, the corridors of Hamnyeongjeon, and the outdoor courtyards. The exhibit works include Lee Bul’s Chiasma (2005), a reflection on technological progress and human desires; Chung Heeseung’s Rose is a rose is a rose (2016), a continuation of Chung’s rose portrait series; Suki Seokyeong Kang’s Rove and Round (2018–2019) and Narrow Meadow (2013–2018); Yang Haegue’s Sonic Obscuring Hairy Hug (2020); and others. Ho Tzu Nyen’s video installation No Man II (2017) will present digitally created figures based on a long process of imagination in human history within the hall of Junmyeongdang, which was originally designated for foreign envoys and guests during the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, the works of Park Kyung Ryul, Park Gwangsoo, Park Junghae, Ho Rui An, Royce Ng, as well as Sulki and Min’s “technical drawing” series will greet the audience from different parts of the palace. The Russian style Jeonggwanheon, a spot where Emperor Gojong occasionally had coffee, will be transformed into an open theater for screening the works by siren eun young jung, Cha Jeamim, and Kim Heecheon.
The newly commissioned works displayed primarily in the outdoor courtyards echo the geographical and historical features of Deoksugung Palace. These works include Koo Donghee’s installation which will float on the Deoksugung Pond; Choi Goen’s reenactment of the palace interiors in the form of a pagoda; Jung Jihyun’s stone diorama of an imaginary animal inspired by haetae; and An Jungju + Jun Sojung’s documentation/depiction of Deoksugung Palace through a dancer’s body and the perspective of a machine. Both IM Youngzoo’s work that adopts the audio guide method and Woo Hannah’s work which rents wearable sewing pieces to people, metaphorically provide the audience with a temporary experience of connecting with anonymous others. Furthermore, Jong Oh and Lee Woosung each present a piece based on their exploration of perspective by utilizing unoccupied “blank” spaces of Deoksugung Palace or transferring the outside scenery indoors.
The title of this exhibition Hare Way Object is an arbitrary combination of “Hare Way(卯方),” an old term for the Jeongdong area in which Deoksugung Palace is located, and “Object,” a word that dictates all beings outside of mankind. Suggesting that this could portray Korean art or Asian art at large, floating apart from one another like an archipelago, Hare Way Object attempts to bridge the gaps.
