transcending Matter

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 mixed 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 artists share the common, perplexingly intricate, usage of heavy metal within the creation of their artworks, the results of which defy the properties of the base element. Seo Young-Deok uses steel chain, Yoo Bong Sang uses nails and Lee Gil Rae's predilection is for wrought copper. In contradiction however, are the ephemeral subjects that they each choose to evoke, which include a range of natural forms, from trees to the human body.

Yoo Bong Sang is the master of light. He guides light to shimmer and dance on the surface of his representational wall based art works made of a relief of thousands and thousands of nails pierced in to a support. Seo YoungDeok imprisons space within metal chain to create volume and form. His sculptures often represent anonymous and stylised human archetypes that are extremely expressive and sensitive, rendered as if captured midbreath in transition. Lee Gil Rae's welded copper trees, reflect back to us a symbolic world, where we are also reminded of more pertinent ecological concerns. Lee uses a multitude of hand wrought metallic rings to render vegetal forms, bringing to life the inert material through intricate assembly of form and the ensuing play of shadows and light that they create.

In each case, these three artists are indisputable masters of their idiosyncratic art form and each demonstrate with unparalleled dexterity and technique how to shape matter so that it goes beyond its initial properties in order to express a wider concern. Through their artistic calling, the physical limits of the media are stretched, symbolism is added and a vision is presented that transcends matter.

It is with delight and pleasure that we bring you this exhibition of outstanding works from these three extraordinary 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 Welded copper 115 x 83 x 25 cm

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45.3 x 32.7 x 9.8 in

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Old Pine Tree, 2015 Welded copper 212 x 170 x 20 cm

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83.5 x 66.9 x 7.9 in

Above Pine Tree, 2013 Welded copper 110 x 104 x 7 cm

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43.3 x 41 x 2.8 in

Left Human Shaped Pine Tree, 2015 Welded copper 200 x 80 x 73 cm

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78.7 x 31.5 x 28.7 in 11

Pine Tree, 2013 Welded copper 210 x 115 x 59 cm

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82.7 x 45.3 x 23.2 in

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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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37.4 x 27.6 x 19.7 in

Anguish 14, 2013 Iron chain 75 x 45 x 65 cm Edition of 8

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29.5 x 17.7 x 25.6 in

Meditation 19, 2015 Iron chain 100 x 90 x 45 cm

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39.4 x 35.4 x 17.8 Edition of 8

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Anguish 18, 2013 Stainless chain 95 x 45 x 70 cm Edition of 8

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37.4 x 17.7 x 27.6 in

Meditation 2, 2009 Iron chain 130 x 90 x 45 cm

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51.2 x 35.4 x 17.7 in

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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23.6 x 47.2 in

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HAN20170105, 2017 headless pins and acrylic on wood 80 x 200 cm

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31.5 x 78.7 in

YG20160816, 2016 headless pins and acrylic on wood 47 x 120 cm

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18.5 x 47.2 in

JJ20170808, 2017 headless pins and acrylic on wood 90 x 360 cm

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35.4 x 141.7 in

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CY20150917, 2015 headless pins and acrylic on wood 50 x 120 cm

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19.7 x 47.2

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KJ20130310, 2013 headless pins and acrylic on wood 150 x 200 cm

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59 x 78.7 in

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CATH20120321, 2012 nails and acrylic on wood 150 x 100 cm

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59 x 39.4 in

E20101001, 2010 nails and acrylic on wood 50 x 120 cm

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19.7 x 47.2 41

M20090510, 2009 nails and acrylic on wood 110 x 300 cm

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43.3 x 118.1 in

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M2004, 2004 charcoal powder and nails on wood 47 x 120 cm

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18.5 x 47.2 in

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Published by Opera Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Transcending Matter , Hong Kong, March 23 - April 12, 2018 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)

W Place, 52 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong + 852 2810 1208 | hkg@operagallery.com

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