A beguiling parade of new Seoul exhibitions speak to our collective human experience and that which hums just below the surface of visibility. Here, Whitewall brings you to must-see presentations like Nari Ward at Lehmann Maupin, Gabriel Orozco at White Cube, John Pai at Gallery Hyundai, and more.
Nari Ward: “ongoin’”
Lehmann Maupin Seoul
Nari Ward, “Red and Black OHM,” 2024, courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin Seoul.
August 28 — October 19, 2024
213 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu Seoul, Korea 04349
Artist Nari Ward’s immersive second presentation at Lehmann Maupin in Seoul is an intuitive meditation on restoration and recovery. A diverse array of works, including wall-based installations, copper panel creations, and lyrical sculptures make up the soulful solo exhibition. The New York-based Ward places their local community of Harlem at the show’s heart, investigating the wonder of communal spirituality and traditional ceremonies with an imaginative flourish. Recently developed wall-based installation Red and Black OHM (2024) brilliantly repurposes shoelaces found by the artist into a hypnotic encounter with the “ohm” sign, speaking to both the collective human experience of analysis as well as daily, physical rituals as simple as the tying and untying of shoelaces.
What we love: Ward’s “ongoin’” follows the artist’s radiant retrospective “Ground Break,” which unfolded at Pirelli HangarBicocca’s Milan gallery space, and makes way for a must-see installation at New York’s Armory Show this fall.
Gabriel Orozco
White Cube Seoul
Gabriel Orozco,
“Warrior Fish,” 2024, Tempera on linen
200 x 200 cm | 78 3/4 x 78 3/4 in., courtesy of the artist and White Cube Seoul.
September 4 — December 14, 2024
6, Dosan-daero 45-gil Seoul, South Korea
White Cube Seoul’s solo presentation of visionary Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco explores the dynamic works on paper and mesmeric paintings drawn from his “Diario de Plantas” series. Created from 2021-2022, the artist’s in-depth notebooks illuminate a voyage through the lush and multifaceted vegetation of Mexico City, Tokyo, and Acapulco. While based in Tokyo during COVID, Orozco began a routine of collecting leaves while outdoors, which culminated in thoughtful works on paper. Pressing the plant life into the pages of his diaries led to an innovative collaging with rich drawings of graphite, tempera, and ink. The addition of freehand markings enhances each piece with melodic tone and texture, invoking Orozco’s bountiful travels and comprehensive discoveries within Mother Nature.
What we love: The splendid color palette within the artist’s works, ranging from striking reds to aquatic blues, is at times enhanced by the application of gold leaf, creating spellbinding movement.
“Open Hands”
Gallery Hyundai & Commonwealth and Council
Woosung Lee,
“Leaning, overlapping, and repeating,” 2021,
Graphite on paper,
35.6 x 29.7 cm;
Courtesy of the artist, Gallery Hyundai and
Commonwealth and Council.
August 30 — September 15, 2024
8 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Currently on view at Gallery Hyundai in Seoul is a visceral group exhibition in collaboration with Commonwealth and Council. Multi-generational visionaries Choi Minhwa, Jesse Chun, Eusung Lee, Kang Seung Lee, Woosung Lee, Yong Soon Min, Oh Inhwan, and Sung Neung Kyung are brought together for a tender sharing of their Korean heritage and an exploration of the global human bond through “Open Hands.” The rich symbolism of the transcendent gesture flows through Woosung Lee’s Leaning, overlapping, and repeating (2021), where a skillful juxtaposition of hands in graphite drawings spotlights both union and friction. In The Blind Spot-Drawing (2024), Inhwan utilizes photography to deftly reveal personal blind spots and those that the hands cannot reach.
What we love: The legendary Newspaper Reading (1976–ongoing) by Kyung, which stands as a pivotal artistic performance of contemporary Korean art history, reveals the power of a time-honored, collective gesture.
John Pai: “Shared Destinies”
Gallery Hyundai
Installation view of John Pai’s “Shared Destinies,” Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Hyundai.
August 28 – October 20, 2024
14 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 03062
In celebration of luminary John Pai’s 70-year career in the arts, Gallery Hyundai raises the curtain on “Shared Destinies,” currently on view through October 20. The exhibition revels in Pai’s first solo show in more than a decade since 2013’s “In Memory’s Lair” at the gallery. Audiences are immersed in a far-reaching presentation with nearly 40 artworks, from poetic steel sculptures of the early 1960s to mesmerizing paintings and drawings. Conjuring the miracles of nature, Pai’s lattice-like designs echo the haunting beauty of spider webs and sweeping coral reefs, as well as undulating plants and shifting biomorphic organisms.
What we love: “Shared Destinies” embraces seven decades of Pai’s masterful techniques which continue to develop, as well as the probing of enigmatic themes such as music, East Asian philosophy, memory, athletics, and more.
Michael Joo: “Soft Skills and Underground Whispers”
Kukje Gallery
Michael Joo,
“Cosms (Catalunya 1),”
2016–2024,
Silvered alabaster and dichroic glass,
Silvered alabaster: 18.5 x 18.5 x 14 cm.,
Dichoric glass: 30 x 30 x 1.6 cm.,
Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery,
Photo: Chunho An,
Image provided by Kukje Gallery.
August 30 — November 3, 2024
54 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 03053
Artist Michael Joo’s new exhibition “Soft Skills and Underground Whispers,” marks his second solo show at Kukje Gallery in Seoul, and impresses with geometric sculptures and objects enhanced by kaleidoscopic surfaces. Joo delves deeply into multi-layered realms of human perception and self-identification, merging science, art, and spirituality in a symphonic dialogue. The presentation’s enchanting title refers to that which hums just below the surface of visibility, unearthing a treasure trove of intimate dramas for exploration. Luxurious moments of clear acrylic and dichroic glass are featured in the Reviders series, shining with rainbow-like hues in an animated effect which both divides and unites space.
What we love: Displayed work Untitled (after LBB) (2024) profoundly honors Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914–1992) and his captivating “glass easel” creations.
Kyungah Ham: “Phantom and A Map”
Kukje Gallery
Kyungah Ham,
“Phantom and A Map / Poetry 03WBXS01,”
2018–2024,
North Korean hand embroidery, silk threads on cotton, middle
man, smuggling, bribe, tension, anxiety, censorship, ideology,
approx. 800hrs/1 person, rayon, cotton, polyester grosgrain,
herringbone grosgrain ribbon tape, adhesive, wooden canvas,
aluminum frame,
66.1 x 101.1 x 5.1 cm;
Courtesy of the artist and Kukje Gallery,
Photo: Jeon Byung Cheol,
Image provided by Kukje Gallery.
August 30 — November 3, 2024
54 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 03053
Solo presentation “Phantom and A Map” by the ever-inspired Kyungah Ham is an extensive show in multiple sections at Kukje Gallery in Seoul. The Phantom Footsteps chapter ponders concealed and deceptive powers of our world, while Phantom and A Map takes a painterly journey of “footsteps” traversing both reality and fiction. The artist’s well-known Embroidery Project, which was sparked in 2008, makes an awe-inspiring appearance. Ebbing and flowing with collective memory and significance, mushroom clouds from Hiroshima and Nagasaki evolve and billow in stark black and white embroidery. Public and private intricacies of Korean society are infused into the artist’s expert weaving techniques.
What we love: Two artworks on display are inspired by the great Henri Matisse, titled Les Fleurs du Mal, which pay homage to the luminary’s illustrations for Charles Baudelaire’s poetry.
Muyeong Kim: “Servant School”
Amado Art Space
Muyeong Kim, “Bimanual,” 2024, 16mm film transferred to 4K, black and white, 16min.; photo by CJYART STUDIO(Junyong Cho), Courtesy of Amado Art Space.
August 8, 2024 — September 8, 2024
8, Itaewon-ro 54-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea
Muyeong Kim, the inaugural recipient of the Amado Art Award, a new grant that champions the most forward-thinking visionaries, here unveils a solo show of ravishing two-dimensional pieces, performance, and video. Meditating on risk and longing, “Servant School” utilizes cameras and theater spaces to shine light on uncertain encounters such as sadism and masochism. Artwork Sex in Hotels evolves the presentation’s installation, submerging viewers in a compound dialogue of emotions and perspectives.
What we love: The exhibition’s nuanced title “Servant School” is derived from the novel Institute Benjamenta by Swiss writer Robert Walser, as well as the film of the same name created by the Quay Brothers.
