Gallery Hyundai is set to return to KIAF Seoul 2024, taking place from September 4 to 8 at COEX, where it will present a curated selection of works that represent the major currents in Korean contemporary art. The exhibition, located at Booth B03, will feature abstract paintings and avant-garde pieces, highlighting the gallery's ongoing commitment to amplifying the value of contemporary art and envisioning its future. This showcase will offer a comprehensive survey of Korean contemporary art's past, present, and future, alongside significant figures in global contemporary art.
With over five decades of history, Gallery Hyundai has played a pivotal role in shaping the Korean art scene. At KIAF 2024, the gallery continues its mission by exploring the evolution of Korean contemporary art and its connections with the global art world. This exhibition is not merely a display of artworks but a thoughtful exploration of the historical and cultural contexts that have shaped Korean contemporary art, offering insights into how it interacts with international art movements.
Kang Seung Lee, Skin (Julie Tolentino), 2021, antique 24k gold thread embroidery on Sambe, 44.5x57.2cm, Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Central to the exhibition are the pioneers of Korean abstract painting: Chung Sang-Hwa, Kim Tschang-Yeul, and Kim Guiline. Chung Sang-Hwa’s Untitled 017-10-6 (2017) exemplifies the artist’s intricate process of layering, removing, and filling in, creating a new dimensionality within the two-dimensional surface. This work was recently highlighted at the Sorol Art Museum’s special exhibition series In Dialog (2024), where Chung was featured alongside prominent American abstractionist Agnes Martin, emphasizing the global connections in art historical developments.
Kim Guiline’s significant series Inside, Outside, often described as "poems written in color," also takes center stage. This series, which conjures multisensory possibilities on monochromatic canvases, was prominently featured in Kim’s solo exhibition Undeclared Fields at Gallery Hyundai in June 2024. Kim Tschang-Yeul’s water drop paintings from the 1970s, which create the illusion of water droplets on canvas, invite viewers to engage with the transparency and iridescence that "dissolves everything into transparent nothingness."
Seulgi Lee, U_A Curled Up Frog = Take Time to Go Further, 2023, Korean silk, collaboration with Nubi artisan of Tongyeong, 195x155x1cm, Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Additionally, Gallery Hyundai will spotlight the works of Korean experimental art pioneers Lee Seung-taek, Lee Kang-So, Lee Kun-Yong, and Sung Neung Kyung. These artists, who were celebrated in the traveling exhibition Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Hammer Museum, explore key concepts of "non-sculpture" and "non-material." For instance, Lee Seung-taek’s works like Tied Stone and Rope Painting delve into these themes, while Lee Kang-So’s The Wind Blows captures the artist's impressions of Scotland’s landscapes with bold strokes on canvases of various colors.
In addition to these established figures, the booth will also feature mid-career and emerging artists who are shaping the landscape of contemporary Korean art. Visitors can experience the poetic, textured canvases of Yun-Hee Toh, who describes her work as "the perception of truth, and its metaphorical enrichment." Yoo Geun-Taek’s Spring - Beginning of the World Series, which portrays surreal and cosmic scenery, will also be on display. Myoung Ho Lee’s photographic work Tree #2, which recontextualizes a tree by placing it against a white canvas, achieves a poetic and contemplative effect, while Kang Seung Lee’s Skin (Julie Tolentino) brings a global perspective to the booth.
Kenny Scharf, HEY U!, 2024, acrylic & spray paint on linen with powder coated aluminum frame, 152.4x122cm, Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Gallery Hyundai’s presentation at KIAF 2024 is further enriched by international artists who are making significant contributions to contemporary art. Among them, American artist Kenny Scharf’s new paintings and Tomás Saraceno’s installation Aeolic Cluster 0.0025 stands out, offering viewers a flowing sense of transparency. Saraceno’s public program Aerocene Seoul is concurrently running at the Leeum Museum of Art until September 29, 2024.
Through this diverse presentation, Gallery Hyundai aims to not only celebrate the rich history of Korean contemporary art but also to highlight its ongoing dialogue with global art movements. KIAF 2024 promises to be an enlightening experience, offering a unique opportunity to engage with the multifaceted world of contemporary art and to understand its evolving narrative within a broader international context.
Gallery Hyundai is set to return to KIAF Seoul 2024, taking place from September 4 to 8 at COEX, where it will present a curated selection of works that represent the major currents in Korean contemporary art. The exhibition, located at Booth B03, will feature abstract paintings and avant-garde pieces, highlighting the gallery's ongoing commitment to amplifying the value of contemporary art and envisioning its future. This showcase will offer a comprehensive survey of Korean contemporary art's past, present, and future, alongside significant figures in global contemporary art.
With over five decades of history, Gallery Hyundai has played a pivotal role in shaping the Korean art scene. At KIAF 2024, the gallery continues its mission by exploring the evolution of Korean contemporary art and its connections with the global art world. This exhibition is not merely a display of artworks but a thoughtful exploration of the historical and cultural contexts that have shaped Korean contemporary art, offering insights into how it interacts with international art movements.
Kang Seung Lee, Skin (Julie Tolentino), 2021, antique 24k gold thread embroidery on Sambe, 44.5x57.2cm, Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Central to the exhibition are the pioneers of Korean abstract painting: Chung Sang-Hwa, Kim Tschang-Yeul, and Kim Guiline. Chung Sang-Hwa’s Untitled 017-10-6 (2017) exemplifies the artist’s intricate process of layering, removing, and filling in, creating a new dimensionality within the two-dimensional surface. This work was recently highlighted at the Sorol Art Museum’s special exhibition series In Dialog (2024), where Chung was featured alongside prominent American abstractionist Agnes Martin, emphasizing the global connections in art historical developments.
Kim Guiline’s significant series Inside, Outside, often described as "poems written in color," also takes center stage. This series, which conjures multisensory possibilities on monochromatic canvases, was prominently featured in Kim’s solo exhibition Undeclared Fields at Gallery Hyundai in June 2024. Kim Tschang-Yeul’s water drop paintings from the 1970s, which create the illusion of water droplets on canvas, invite viewers to engage with the transparency and iridescence that "dissolves everything into transparent nothingness."
Seulgi Lee, U_A Curled Up Frog = Take Time to Go Further, 2023, Korean silk, collaboration with Nubi artisan of Tongyeong, 195x155x1cm, Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Additionally, Gallery Hyundai will spotlight the works of Korean experimental art pioneers Lee Seung-taek, Lee Kang-So, Lee Kun-Yong, and Sung Neung Kyung. These artists, who were celebrated in the traveling exhibition Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Hammer Museum, explore key concepts of "non-sculpture" and "non-material." For instance, Lee Seung-taek’s works like Tied Stone and Rope Painting delve into these themes, while Lee Kang-So’s The Wind Blows captures the artist's impressions of Scotland’s landscapes with bold strokes on canvases of various colors.
In addition to these established figures, the booth will also feature mid-career and emerging artists who are shaping the landscape of contemporary Korean art. Visitors can experience the poetic, textured canvases of Yun-Hee Toh, who describes her work as "the perception of truth, and its metaphorical enrichment." Yoo Geun-Taek’s Spring - Beginning of the World Series, which portrays surreal and cosmic scenery, will also be on display. Myoung Ho Lee’s photographic work Tree #2, which recontextualizes a tree by placing it against a white canvas, achieves a poetic and contemplative effect, while Kang Seung Lee’s Skin (Julie Tolentino) brings a global perspective to the booth.
Kenny Scharf, HEY U!, 2024, acrylic & spray paint on linen with powder coated aluminum frame, 152.4x122cm, Courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Gallery Hyundai’s presentation at KIAF 2024 is further enriched by international artists who are making significant contributions to contemporary art. Among them, American artist Kenny Scharf’s new paintings and Tomás Saraceno’s installation Aeolic Cluster 0.0025 stands out, offering viewers a flowing sense of transparency. Saraceno’s public program Aerocene Seoul is concurrently running at the Leeum Museum of Art until September 29, 2024.
Through this diverse presentation, Gallery Hyundai aims to not only celebrate the rich history of Korean contemporary art but also to highlight its ongoing dialogue with global art movements. KIAF 2024 promises to be an enlightening experience, offering a unique opportunity to engage with the multifaceted world of contemporary art and to understand its evolving narrative within a broader international context.
