KMK: City Art Asia 2009

Last weekend my friends Ian, Kalli, and I all descended upon the Seoul Museum of Art in Sesomun-dong. We went to check out the big new exhibition City_net Asia 2009 which brings together artists from Seoul, Istanbul, Tokyo and Beijing to present their perspective on living in their respective cities in today’s modern age.

First up was Seoul’s Double Edged Sword. This section of the exhibit brought together Korean artists who work in different mediums. I especially liked Chang-Won Lee’s There is no myth, an installation piece of wooden blocks and tea leaves that when viewed evokes the images of flying bird. Another standout, though more in a disarming way, is Xooang Choi’s the Wing, a pair of angelic wings made from human hands. It’s both arresting and creepy. Jin-Joon Lee’s Your Stage presents an installation of glass, mirrors and steel all put together to reflect a warped reflection of yourself. I also enjoyed Dyung-Ho Lee’s Vanitas bust wherein the visage of a young woman instantly ages before your eyes.

Next we checked out Istanbul’s Modern: the new continent. This exhibit weighed heavy with video pieces. Haluk Akakce’s Birth of Art featured blossoming floating flowers that resembled metallic hybrid machines as well as translucent fruit floating before a background of candles. Sener Ozmen and Erkan Ozgen’s Road to Tate Modern told the tale of two men in business suits riding mules along a trail. They stop to bathe in a stream and ask a passerby for directions. IT seemed like some take on Don Quixote.

Tokyo’s Off the Center displayed the quirky offbeat attitude I enjoy in Japanese contemporary culture. Masaharu Sato’s Avatar 11 is a video installation of monitors featuring a different animated head in several locales; behind a door or fence, cut off by a backseat in a car or a window pane. The haunting menace I felt was unexpected and completely contrary to Tamana Araki’s Away Forever, an installation piece comprised of thread, wood, wire, and paint. The big ball of red yard is connected to dozens of little wooden pieces of furniture scattered about the floor.

Beijing’s Sedimentation rounds out the exhibit. Here’ the most jarring work belongs to artist He Yunchang who uses his own rib bone as jewelry for the women in his life. It’s some twisted take on adam’s rib that left me feeling nauseated. Thought that mishap was quickly ameliorated by A Cloud Above Beijing at 15:5’:55 a playful construction of fluffy clouds suspended from the ceiling as well as Chi Peng’s Why Should I Love You which depicts a huge mechanized robot building in downtown Beijing.
The entire exhibit runs until the 22 of November and is definitely worth a visit. I can honestly say it was one of the most interesting and memorable exhibits I’ve seen in quite awhile.

○ Hall 1. 서울 시립미술관 Seoul Museum of Art : Double Ax (양날의 검)
● Curator: 조주현 Juhyun Cho(서울시립미술관 큐레이터)
● Artists: 김종구/ 김현준/ 이명호/ 이병호/ 이세현/ 이진준/ 이창원/ 정윤석/ 최수앙

○ Hall 2. 이스탄불 현대미술관 Istanbul Modern : The new continent; Istanbul (새로운 대륙; 이스탄불)
● Curator: 레벤트 칼리코글루 Levent Calikoglu(이스탄불현대미술관 수석 큐레이터)
● Artists: Gulsun Karamustafa/ Sukran Moral/ Sener Ozmen & Erkan Ozgen/ Hale Tenger/ Nil Yalter/ Canan Senol/ Hakan Onur/Hakan Gursoytrak Murat Akagunduz

○ Hall 3. 동경 모리미술관 Mori Art Museum : Off the Center (오프 센터)
● Curator: 나츠미 아라키 Natsumi Araki(모리미술관 큐레이터)
● Artists: Yusuke Asai/ Tamana Araki/ Takahiro Iwasaki/ Teppei Kaneuji/ Aiko Tezuka/
Etsuko Fukaya/ Yuichi Yokoyama & Aya Wada/ Masaharu Sato

○ Hall 4. 북경 금일미술관 Today’s Art Museum : Sedimentation (퇴적작용)
● Curator: 리 샤오치엔 Li Xiaoqian(금일미술관 부관장)
● Artists: Shi Jinsong/ He Yunchang/ Qiu Zhijie/ Bai Yiluo/ Chi Peng/ Li Qing/ Jia Aili/ Qiu AnXiong/ Tan Chenlin/ Wang Haiyang

37, Seosomun-dong, Jung-gu
100-813 Seoul, Korea South

Tel: 02-2124-8800
Fax: 02-2124-8940
Email: smoa@seoul.go.kr
www.seoulmoa.org

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