Programme 2012/13 by Tom Woo

VOL.01

2012/13 MAY LEE JAEHYO SOLO EXHIBITION 3 - 30 MAY 2012 7 MAY : ART TALK

PARK SEUNGMO SOLO EXHIBITION 7 - 28 JUNE 2012 HONG SUNGCHUL SOLO EXHIBITION 5 - 26 JULY 2012 JE BAAK SOLO EXHIBITION 2 - 25 AUGUST 2012 GWON OSANG SOLO EXHIBITION 1 - 28 SEPTEMBER 2012 LEE KANGWOOK SOLO EXHIBITION 4 - 26 OCTOBER 2012 AHN CHULHYUN SOLO EXHIBITION 1 - 28 NOVEMBER 2012 LEE JINHAN SOLO EXHIBITION 6 - 26 DECEMBER 2012

0121-足1 110=112021 | wood (bamboo) | 210 x 210 x 66cm | 2012

FOR FUTURE ART TALK SCHEDULE PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE : hadacontemporary.com The above schedule is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

ha:da:

a productive suffix for creating verbs and adjectives from nouns in the Korean language

HADA Contemporar y aims to cultivate the dialogue between the Far East and Europe by firmly positioning the ar t of each culture into the ar tistic hub of the other. It recognises the rich histor y of ar t of both the countr y it inhabits and those it represents, showcasing established and emerging ar tists from the Far East with an emphasis on Korea. The often neglected diver sity of histor y, cultural tradition and impor tance of local integration between the countries drives HADA to nur ture ar tists in order to fur ther bridge unfamiliar territories. By cultivating the relationship between these dynamic arenas exoticisation can be exchanged for appreciation. The presence of HADA Contemporar y on Vyner Street offer s the oppor tunity to fur ther explore the conver sation between a variety of often estranged dialogues: that of ‘Far East’ and ‘West’, ‘Tradition’ and ‘Conception’, ‘Them’ and ‘Context’. A joint venture

established in 2010 on Albemar le Street in Mayfair by Tom Woo and Tony Pontone, the founder of Albemar le Galler y, London, HADA embraces the platform for emerging talent and progressive ar tistic thought Vyner Street has historically provided. The entrepreneurialism and vision that characterises the establishment of the London East End ar t scene, through the bold exploration of real and current exchanges of the wor ld and its individuals through the visual ar ts, continues with HADA Contemporar y. As the fir st East Asian ar t galler y on Vyner Street HADA represents the inescapably international and transient nature of society today.

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE 2012 /13 LEE JAEHYO 3 - 30 MAY 2012 ART TALK : 7 MAY

“Until recently, my wor k has been about combining wood with nails or steel bar s, integrating them into geometrical shapes such as a sphere , a hemisphere or a cylinder. Whenever I do this, one of my troubles is keep nails and bolts out of sight. On the contrar y, I now put an emphasis only on nails. I drive countless nails into wood, bend them, grind them, and then burn the wood, making nails protr ude and at the same time blackening its growth ring and natural color. Then glittering metallic nails on the black charcoal become ever more conspicuous.Through this process, I draw a picture on wood using nails. It may be those that make a hard living who make this wor ld a beautiful place . I cer tainly do not have the power to make it beautiful. I just hope to make those things that are seen beautiful. It may be a r usty bent nail. If you take a close look at it, however, you’ll find how beautiful it is.”

- Lee Jaehyo

PARK SEUNGMO 7 - 28 JUNE ART TALK : TBC

Are you real! Are you existent! Par k Seungmo, like most of other traditional sculptor s do, makes ‘models’ for his wor k.They range from ‘the human being’, to Buddha, head of Buddha, bike , rocking chair, saxophone ,Venus, pump, plow, kettle , piano, charcoal stove , elephant, contrabass, etc.This variety is not what is chosen according to the ar tist’s judgement in cer tain order. Rather, he introduces ever yday objects around him into his ar t wor ld. He makes no distinction between what is live and what isn’t; what is large and what is small; and what makes sound and what doesn’t. All of them come from ‘the creature’.

- Kim Jong-gill, Ar t Critic Exploring of being real and being existent from the Zen per spective.

HONG SUNGCHUL 5 - 26 JULY ART TALK : TBC

Hong Sungchul, using various media and modern technology, prompts interaction and performance from his viewer s. Communicating the deep desire for human contact within society, his wor ks never fully reveal themselves initially and exude a ghostly quality whereby the visual sense is questioned. The viewer must abandon reliance on their eyes alone and use their bodies and voices to prompt cooperation with the wor k. Stripping away the isolating experience traditionally encountered within ar t galleries, Hong initiates a dialogue with and among viewer s, instilling the sense of community prised in Korean culture . Hong’s current body of wor k revives his string concept – a visual representation of what ties humans together from the ear liest stage of life – the umbilical chord.These strings, upon which an image is printed, are staggered in his wor ks and inter lace to reveal a final representation – one of suppor t or of loneliness.

JE BAAK 2 - 25 AUGUST ART TALK : TBC

Ja Baak’s ar tistic practice centres on his spiritual practice of Zen Buddhism. The object or subject of attention is constantly shifted, sometimes deleted, to prompt the viewer to experience familiar scenes from altered per spectives. Transforming the serious into the comical, the familiar into the uncomfor table and the spectacular into the empty, Baak forces viewer s into an introspection, developing the beginning of an ‘inward eye’ whereby self-realisation and ultimately enlightenment can be attained in an unfamiliar way.

0121-1 110=112029 | wood (oak) | variable installation | 2012

I cer tainly do not have the power to make the wor ld beautiful. I just hope to make those things that are seen beautiful. The organic constr uctions of Lee Jaehyo exude a breath-taking otherwor ldly splendour. Both pensive and dynamic, still yet deafening, his wor ks allow him to expose the often neglected intrinsic beauty of his conventional subjects. His ‘common’ materials and forms of choice offer an immediate accessibility that defies any cultural, historical, intellectual or spiritual boundar y, seducing the audience to enter into its space and reacquaint themselves with the uncommonness of their existence. Yet in their ability to cross border s and seamlessly adapt to international landscapes, Lee’s practice remains specifically rooted in Korean ar tistic tradition to cultivate his exchange with the present.

Born in 1962 in South Korea, Lee Jaehyo emerged against the predominant wave of his contemporaries whose ar t imitated Western modernist styles and movements of the ear ly twentieth centur y. Audiences have been quick to associate him with the concept of faktura of the Russian Constr uctivists active in the ear ly year s leading up to the Fir st Wor ld War (1914-18) and the Land Ar t movement of the United States that took shape in the 1960s and 70s. Faktura referred to the visual demonstration of distinct proper ties inherent to materials while the Land Ar t movement protested against the ar tificiality and commercialisation of beauty. Lee’s wor ks such as 0121-110=112027 reflect these primar y concerns of faktura and Land Ar t through the use of the timeless medium of wood. The pieces have been laboriously wor ked into a smooth and perfect column to reveal the striking nuances of their growth

rings, tones and textures. However Lee also voices the primar y impor tance of upholding traditional Korean ar t in his wor k. Korean ar t stands out for the impor tance placed on the subtle mar k of the ar tist while respecting the nature of the materials. The traditional Korean ar t genres of calligraphy, painting, ceramics, handicraft and architecture emphasise a strong emotional and spiritual tie to their native landscape expressed through r ustic lines, simple tones and unrestrained harmony. Lee’s wooden constr uctions are reminiscent of Korean traditional houses, hanok. Although hanok were built without the use of nails and Lee’s wooden sculptures rely heavily on metal fastenings, his wor k ingeniously embodies the str ucturally and aesthetically balanced fusion of straight lines and cur ves, exposed ribs and decorative surfaces that characterise hanok. The significance placed on str ucture and surface and the interplay between the media employed for each wor k reveals Lee’s constant interaction with his materials. Sculptures such as 0121-110=1111219 rever se the roles of the invisible str uctural nails and the visible wood exterior. The nails rise to the surface of the wor k, embedded into charcoaled wood and polished to an unexpected mesmerising sheen. These constant exchanges between the seen and unseen, material and immaterial, in Lee’s wor k uncover the synergy of ar tificial inter vention with natural evolution; an attribute of his relationship with both his materials and the development of his ar t. Lee’s commitment to presenting the ‘tr ue’ nature of his media conveys a mutual respect between the

0121-1 110=1100315 | steel wire | 80 x 80 cm | 2011

0121-1 110=112011| wood (branches) | 600 x 100 x 220 cm, 31 pieces | 2012

ar tist and his materials. Ever yday entities such as steel and wood metamorphose into new and unfamiliar identities through the ar tist’s inquisitive and reverent deconstr uction of the materials. From the moment he walks into the forest or tool shop to encounter his collection of timber, stone or nails for his next creation, he allows these materials to speak to him, taking on the role of an instr ument for their next incarnation. Painstakingly polished slices of wood and bent nails convey the beauty of the conventional and Lee maximises their purity through simple geometric forms. Such expressions are also seen in his recent sculpture 0121-1110-111041, built entirely of welded stainless steel cylindrical tubes which possess an organic quality that appear s to breathe life into, and uncover the beauty of, the industrial material and form. The immensity and flawlessness of nature that inspire Lee Jaehyo’s dialogues with his materials endow his sculpture with a univer sality that engages anyone who also dares to venture beyond surface and object. He stands amongst a select group of Korean contemporar y ar tists whose expression is deeply tied

to their inherited tradition. As curator Laurencina Farrant-Lee obser ves, these ar tists ‘possess strong emotional and spiritual ties to their native landscape and culture and draw from Korean aesthetics to sustain, complement and fur ther their contemporar y statement’ [1] . Lee’s wor ks appear to live and breathe in the present through their creator’s ability to conver se with the past and look forward, a respect that flows into the materials and beyond to the spectator. - Jungeun Lee, Independent Writer

[1] Laurencina Farrant-Lee, ‘Simply Beautiful Exhibition Concept’, Lee Jaehyo. Simply Beautiful: Breadth of Nature in Korean Contemporar y Ar t, CentrePasquAr t, Biel, 2006, n.p.

0121-1 110=1111012 0121-1 110=111123 | 0121-1 110=112027 | 0121-1 110=1071212

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE 2012 /13 GWON OSANG 1 - 28 SEPTEMBER 2012 “Unless my life or environment changes significantly, I’ll probably stay pretty much the way I am. Of cour se my life has changed somewhat but I haven’t much in terms of the way I think. Some ar tists have a set style while other s don’t. As for me , I became known for the photographic sculpture of Deodorant Type , and later people praised me for breaking away from that in The Flat. But from my per spective I don’t see any major change . People say that The Sculpture is a big shift, but little has changed in the way I wor k. In the studio, I’ve made them in paper mache and they’re easily moved about. But even for those ar tists who don’t have a defined style , we can still recognize his wor k even when he wor ks in different spaces.The wor k of a tr ue ar tist will have that distinct feel of the ar tist. I, too, may change in the future but probably not to a great extent. Just as one’s constitution does not change so easily.” - Gwon Osang

LEE KANGWOOK 4 - 26 OCTOBER 2012 Titling his wor ks ‘Invisible space’, Lee Kangwook beautifully champions two undetectable frontier s: endless space and restricted space . Biological maps of human cells are fixed to the canvas through layer s of various membranes – thin layer s of gel and gouache – achieving the slick surface of hospital floor s. Over laid on these faint microscopic bodies, are floating celestial bodies, freely drawn and dotted with glittering matter. Employing abstraction on his large scale canvases, Lee addresses two opposing and yet balancing forces: the microscopic and the macroscopic.These major building blocks of our wor ld are not juxtaposed, but rather presented as complimentar y and univer sal forces that affect us each day. In these wor ks, not only does Lee express what is commonly stated in Korea – that the body and ear th are one – but that the body and the univer se are one .

AHN CHULHYUN 1 - 28 NOVEMBER 2012 Korean ar tist Ahn Chulhyun creates sculptures utilizing light, color, and illusion as physical representations of his investigation of infinite space . Ahn’s interest in the gap between the conscious and subconscious compels him to constr uct illusionistic environments providing a space for contemplation. Ahn’s sculpture urges the viewer to consider man’s boundless ability for physical and spiritual travel while exploiting illusions of infinity and the poetics of emptiness. Chul-Hyun Ahn has translated geometric painting and the Zen practice of meditation into an ar t of light, space and technology. Ahn entices the viewer to look deeply into his frame of environments. His wor ks create an optical and bodily illusion of infinity through apparent limitless space .The notion of the void distinguishes his wor k amid the vast panoply of ways that ar tists have used light as a medium since the experiments of the 1920’s and par ticular ly since the 1960’s.

KIM YOUNGHUN / HAN JISEOK / KIM HYUENJUN 3 - 30 JAN 2013 Kim’s variations in media involve installation wor k, video, digital media, and painting. It was following Kim’s return to Korea after numerous year s in Europe we can see his return to painting and reconsideration of the loss of memories and feelings. Cloud Map and Beyond Future (2009) carr y the theme of Electronic Nostalgia.

Han Jiseok’s br ushstrokes saturate the large canvases with wooded forests, swampy bogs, typography, and figures. Han por trays his deep thoughts, memories and psychosomatic experiences through abstract expressionist practices to illustrate the sub-conscious and conscious in his reverie of landscapes.

Kim Hyuen Jun’s wor ks centre on value creation within ar t and society. Kim questions contemporar y notions of value in a commoditized society by focusing purely on the immaterial – packaging – that which is frequently gifted in society and regular ly discarded. His sculptures grant immediate wor th to utilitarian materials.

CHRISTINE SUN KIM 7 - 27 FEBRUARY 2013 ( TBC ) Korean-American ar tist Christine Sun Kim redefines sound through her individual limitations. The ar tist, deaf since bir th, wor ks to ‘reclaim sound’ through her use of installations, transducer s, subwoofer s, balloons, ink, street recordings, and performances. Following her ar tist residency in Ber lin (2008) she continues to challenge ideas and perceptions of sound, social norms, speech, and identity. Kim indicates sound being one of two things: ghost and currency – it exists and carries value in society, but she can’t see it. Her re-interpretation and re-appropriation of the physicality of sound are rendered through her body movement performances and splattering of paint of subwoofer s. “It’s a lot more interesting to explore a medium that I don’t have direct access to and yet has the most direct connection to society at large . . . Social norms surrounding sound are so deeply ingrained that, in a sense , our identities cannot be complete without it.” – Christine Sun Kim

MIN JUNGYEON 7 - 28 MARCH 2013 Min Jungyeon was born with a natural aptitude of depicting her eccentric imagination inviting the onlooker to experience her surreal and intimate visions. Her beautifully created organic forms flow and inhabit the imaginative spaces often together with her own figure or animals. Conveyed within the wor ks is her interpretation of the relationship between fantasy and reality. Her paintings accommodate contradicting imageries of turbulence and tranquillity, eccentricity and authenticity, combined and successfully transferred on to canvas in a calm and believable way. “This may ver y well be a reflection of my background. Born in Korea - a divided countr y - I live in France , and feel like I exist between two wor lds. In my daily life , I often ser ve as a link of sor ts between member s of the Korean community and other groups, and somehow, this interesting condition also reveals another side : the sense of being nowhere .That feeling has made its way into my paintings regardless of my intentions.” - Min Jungyeon

LUXURYLOGICO 4 - 26 APRIL 2013 Luxur yLogico encompasses four Taiwanese ar tists, living and wor king in Taipei: Chang Kenghau, Chang Genghwa, Llunc Lin and Ken Chen. The diver se group, at times combined together with various performer s, create wor k through the use of mechanics, computing, music, design, drama, lighting, and photography. They associate their group to Transformer s, a 27 year old historical toy machine that can transform itself into a car, aircraft or animal, which center s on two divided groups of warring robots. Their Solar wor ks (2010) using recycled lights, light stands, and lamps arranged into large orbs reflect an ar tificial sun joined together by computer technology and LED bulbs. The ar tists’ intention with Solar, to promote recycling, provides a strong reflection of their ideas on society, humanities and conventional technology.

PARK SEUNGMO 7 - 28 JUNE