TRANSCENDING M AT TER YOO BONG SANG
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SEO YOUNG-DEOK
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LEE GIL RAE
T R A N S C E N D I N G M AT T E R YOO BONG SANG
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SEO YOUNG-DEOK
22/03 – 12/04/2018
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LEE GIL RAE
PREFACE
Transcending Matter is a collective exhibition curated by Opera Gallery Hong Kong around recent works by three Korean artists: Yoo Bong Sang, Seo Young-Deok and Lee Gil Rae. These three artists have in common the usage of metallic parts in the creation of their artworks. Seo Young-Deok uses chains, Yoo Bong Sang prefers nails and Lee Gil Rae's predilection is for rings. This trio of contemporary artists examine a wide array of subject matters including nature and particularly trees, or the human body in all its aspects – its expressive strength and its deployment in threedimensional space. However, their works also vary greatly one from the other, both in style and in the use of metallic matter. Yoo Bong Sang is the master of light. He guides light to play on the surface of his works made of a relief of nails. Seo Young-Deok imprisons space inside chains to create volume. His sculptures often represent anonymous human beings but are extremely expressive. Finally, we come to the trees welded by Lee Gil Rae. They remind us both of the ecological and the symbolical worlds. Lee uses a multitude of metallic rings to render vegetal forms in space and brings life from the inert assembling a show of shadows and light. In any case, they are indisputably masters of the metallic craft who can demonstrate with dexterity how to bend the technique to their artistic calling, exploring the specificities, physical limits and symbolism of their materials to showcase a vision that transcends matter. It is with delight and pleasure that we bring forth to you in this exhibition the outstanding works of these three contemporary artists.
Gilles Dyan Chairman and Founder of Opera Gallery Group Sharlane Foo Director of Opera Gallery Hong Kong 3
LEE GIL RAE (B. 1961) Lee Gil Rae was born in Yeongam-gun, South Korea in 1961. He graduated with bachelor and masters degrees in fine art and sculpture from Kyunghee University in Seoul, Korea. For the past twenty years, Lee has followed nature as his muse, crafting intricate, organic, tree-form sculptures from steel and copper pipes, in response to continued deforestation, depletion of natural resources and environment crisis. Lee Gil Rae's trees are made with permanence in mind. They have become an artificial simulation of nature, urbanised and visionary, transforming the physical properties of plant life into modern, mechanical forms. Lee Gil Rae has participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide and features in numerous private and public collections.
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Pine Tree, 2016 Copper welding . 115 x 83 x 25 cm
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Old Pine Tree, 2015 Copper welding . 212 x 170 x 20 cm
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Above Pine Tree, 2013 Copper welding . 110 x 104 x 7 cm
Left Human Shaped Pine Tree, 2015 Copper welding . 200 x 80 x 73 cm
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Pine Tree, 2013 Copper welding . 210 x 115 x 59 cm
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SEO YOUNG DEOK (B. 1983) Born in 1983 in Korea, Seo Young-Deok graduated from the department of Environmental Sculpture at the University of Seoul in 2009 and gained prominence through his sculptural exploration of the human form through unconventional materials such as metal chain, a material that has been critical to the development of the modern world and Korea's manufacturing industry. Inspired by his own rural upbringing in contrast to his urban adult life, Seo Young-Deok’s use of chain questions the industrialization of labor that has become synonymous with today’s human condition. Each iron piece is welded together to become a part of the dynamic system of organic connectivity exhibited under human forms; while the material may be physically strong, its structural completeness is what exudes strength of the human spirit. By constantly weighting the dichotomy between 'complete’ and ‘incomplete’ existence, Seo Young-Deok addresses the inevitable social inequalities of the industrial system.
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Anguish 19, 2015 Stainless chain . 95 x 70 x 50 cm Edition of 8
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Anguish 14, 2013 Iron chain . 75 x 45 x 65 cm Edition of 8
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Meditation 19, 2015 Iron chain . 100 x 90 x 45 cm Edition of 8
Anguish 18, 2013 Stainless chain. 95 x 45 x 70 cm Edition of 8
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Meditation 2, 2009 Iron chain. 130 x 90 x 45 cm Edition of 8
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YOO BONG SANG (B. 1960) Yoo Bong Sang was born in Korea in 1960 where he still resides. He trained at the Seoul National University after which he spent a number of years living and working in France. Yoo's artworks combine the artist’s vision, his own photography and a laborious process, which involves penetrating a support of plywood on welded aluminium with thousands and thousands of nails in order to create the pixels of an image. On average 300,000 pins are used to create these perplexing and beguiling images. Yoo Bong Sang was the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2001, and has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout Korea and Europe.
JEAN20170822, 2017 headless pins and acrylic on wood . 60 x 120 cm
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HAN20170105, 2017 headless pins and acrylic on wood . 80 x 200 cm
YG20160816, 2016 headless pins and acrylic on wood . 47 x 120 cm
JJ20170808, 2017 headless pins and acrylic on wood . 90 x 360 cm
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CY20150917, 2015 headless pins and acrylic on wood . 50 x 120 cm
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KJ20130310, 2013 headless pins and acrylic on wood . 150 x 200 cm
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CATH20120321, 2012 nails and acrylic on wood . 150 x 100 cm
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E20101001, 2010 nails and acrylic on wood . 50 x 120 cm
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M20090510, 2009 nails and acrylic on wood . 110 x 300 cm
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M2004, 2004 charcoal powder and nails on wood . 47 x 120 cm
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Published by Opera Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Transcending Matter , March 23 - April 12, 2018, Hong Kong All rights reserved. Except for the purposes of review, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
We would like to thank the artists for their trust. We would also like to thank all our collectors for their kind support throughout the years.
Coordinators: AurĂŠlie Heuzard, Lou Mo, Tom Masson Photography: Courtesy of Opera Gallery and the artists Cover: Yoo Bong Sang, M2004, 47 x 120 cm, 2004 (detail)
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