GWON OSANG | POSTMODERN TIMES
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Transcript of GWON OSANG | POSTMODERN TIMES
GWON OSANGPOSTMODERN T IMES
This catalogue is published by HADA Contemporary to accompany the exhibition:
GWON OSANGPOSTMODERN TIMES
4 APRIL - 31 MAY 2013
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any mean, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without prior written permission from HADA Contemporary Ltd.
GWON OSANG SOLO EXHIBITION
POSTMODERN TIMES
HADA Contemporary is pleased to announce the solo exhibition by Gwon Osang (b.1974, South Korea) presenting
his three series Deodorant Type, The Flat and The Sculpture bringing the genealogy of his ar tistic practice into
perspective. Gwon’s ar tistic oeuvre has been driven by his aspiration towards the exploration of the concept of
sculpture pushing its traditional boundary as an ar tistic medium. Through closely interconnected three different
series, he keenly aims to depict and testify on the temporality and futility of the contemporary lives and society
through sculpting postmodern sculptures.
In his celebrated Deodorant Type series, Gwon effor tlessly creates sculptural three-dimensionality through weightless
two-dimensional photographs. From the fascination of the commonality between photographic negatives and the
plaster molds, he conver ts the weightness, volume and density of traditional sculptures from marble and bronze
with the fragile lightness of photography. The title, Deodorant Type references on the deceptive and misperceptual
mechanism of the product as it conceals the odour without eliminating the fundamental cause. Similarly, his photo-
sculptures por traiting lifelike figures from reassembled photography captured from living models, cease to represent
what is being represented devoid of its true essence yet transforming them into another beings. The early stage
of his photographic sculptures were characterised by their mutative bodies and objects exploring the possibilities
how the figures can express different meanings in different contexts through their gestures and expressions. In
accordance with the development of other series, his photo-sculptures gradually evolve to reflect intensively on
contemporary life through the product of modernisation as the internet and adver tisement to source his ar tistic
pursuits.
The Flat series originates from the ar tist’s question on ‘still life.’ From his belief that any freestanding objects can be a
sculpture, he adheres wires onto magazine adver tisement cut-outs and photographs his flat sculptures into a frame.
His recent works are constructed by versatile compositional images from the magazines that seem to investigate
the architectural and structural relationship of the discrepant planar objects vividly elaborating and refining his initial
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works that were collection of high-end mass products. To question
the validity as a sculpture is futile, yet the impor tance remains on
his effor ts to broaden the possibilities of the medium by constant
oscillation between two dimensionality and three dimensionality -
the act of conversion from a conversion which in par t coincides
with the deconstructive nature of postmodern society. He not
only hovers between sculpture and photography, but also fur ther
extends his quest on the still life that was primarily governed by
two dimensional mediums as painting. The cyclical nature of the
images and information that the ar tist employs disorient us from
the originality as Walter Benjamin similarly states that ‘even the most
perfect reproduction of a work of ar t is lacking in one element: its
presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where
it happens to be.’ As a magnified and intensified display of a show
window, The Flat series comments on the transience of excess in
contemporary society which is filtered through the adver tisements
of today.
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In The Sculpture series, Gwon reilluminates traditional mode of sculpting to reflect his ongoing investigation to
procreate sculptures that inevitable reflects contemporary lives. The history of sculpture and industrial designs were
significantly founded upon to study of human bodies. As Rodin pursued his belief on the aesthetical possibilities of
fragmented body such as ‘torso,’ Gwon focuses on the contemporary industrial design such as high-end automobiles
and motorbikes that exemplify the height of commercial society as pure ar tistic materials. His thick glossy painterly
surfaces analogous to the expressive gestural paintings repeatedly imply the frail boundary of the ar tistic mediums.
The use of images and information accessible only via internet - vir tual reality - without thorough observation or
physical engagement also highlights the notion to create an object which reflects the current.
As Charlie Chaplin’s por trait of modern industrialised world through newly developed technology of moving
pictures in culturally significant film, Modern Times (1936), Gwon ceaselessly attempts to por trait contemporary
society and life through the sincere observation and usage of the materials that are fruits of modernisation. Modern
and postmodern societies has been developed, judged and classified by the aspects as convenience, technological
developments, efficiency, mass production and adver tising which also played a major par t in cultivating ar tistic
developments. These attributes play as key catalysts for Gwon as well in his creations as he seeks to produce
convenient, efficient and light sculptures. Dada ar tists believed the intense necessity for ar t to engage with the
modern world and that the work of ar t could be gather from the modern life itself. If Dada ar tists’ practices were
the profound ethical response to the historical circumstances of world wars and the seismic shifts in the modern
world during the time, Gwon’s ar tistic practices may perhaps share the similar attitude in displaying the abundance
of fantasical images and information, which manifest the transience of overflow of the contemporary world. As
he ardently claims The Flat as a sculpture, which reminds us of Duchamp’s statement of urinal as an aesthetical
object, Gwon inherits this legacy to explore and enlarge the scopes and definitions of mediums showcasing the
contemporary society. The photomonatge has been prevalent since early 20th century as an active interdisciplinary
agent to foster the dialogue between ar tistic mediums, movements and society at large by ar tists such as El
Lissitzky and Kur t Schwitters and continuously tantalises many contemporary ar tists as David Hockney and Richard
Hamilton. Gwon fur ther focuses on photography’s nature to magnify, reduce and multiply which simulatenously
are the essential traits of the current society that one can also observe in adver tising. All of his sculptures are
clear representation of contemporary society where nothing is truly what you see, as Baudrillard argues regarding
simulacrum, which ‘bears no relation to any reality whatsoever’ yet ‘becoming truth in its own right’.
Gwon Osang (b. 1974) received MFA and BFA in sculpture at Hongik University, Seoul, Korea. He exhibited
internationally as Seoul Museum of Ar t, Leeum Samsung Museum of Ar t Seoul, PLATAEU Seoul, Saatchi Gallery
London, Manchester Ar t Gallery, National Museum of Fine Ar ts Buenos Aires, Arken Museum for Modern Ar t
Copenhagen, The National Por trait Gallery Canberra, The National Ar t Museum of China, Singapore Ar t Museum.
He par ticipated in various residency programmes as National Ar t Studio Changdong and collaborated with ar tists
as Keane and fashion and spor ts brands as Vogue and Nike.
THE SCULPTURE SERIES
The Sculpture 9 | acr ylic , resin and aluminum on stoneclay | 48 x 182 x 91 cm | 2008
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The Sculpture 9 | acr ylic , resin and aluminum on stoneclay | 48 x 182 x 91 cm | 2008 (detail)
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Torso (The sculpture 11) | acr ylic on stoneclay, resin, aluminum on stoneclay | 142 x 185 x 70 cm | 2008-9
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Torso (The sculpture 12) | acr ylic on stoneclay, resin, aluminum on stoneclay | 142 x 160 x 70cm | 2008-10
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THE FLAT SERIES
2009, Apr il | l ightjet pr int, wood frame | 217.6 x 172 cm | 2011
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2010, March | l ightjet pr int, wood frame | 231.6 x 186 cm | 2011
2011, November (Tumbler) | l ightjet pr int, wood frame | 146 x 97 cm | 2012
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2011, November (Bird) | l ightjet pr int, wood frame | 146 x 97 cm | 2012
2011, October (3D) | l ightjet pr int, wood frame | 146 x 97 cm | 2012
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DEODORANT TYPE SERIES
Harper’s Bazaar | resin coated C-print sculpture | 180 x 55 x 105 cm | 2008
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Harper’s Bazaar | resin coated C-print sculpture | 180 x 55 x 105 cm | 2008 (detail)
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Fuse | resin coated c-print sculpture | 165 x 47 x 71 cm | 2007-8
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St. Sebastian | resin coated c-print sculpture | 173 X 55 X 70 cm | 2009
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St. Sebastian | resin coated c-print sculpture | 173 X 55 X 70 cm | 2009 (detail)
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v
GWON OSANG (b.1974)
EDUCATION
2004 MFA, Graduate studies in Sculpture, HongIk University, Seoul, Korea
2000 BFA, Dep. of Sculpture, College of Ar ts, HongIk University, Seoul, Korea
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 HADA Contemporary, London, UK
2012 Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2011 Doosan Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Ando Fine Ar ts, Berlin, Germany
2010 Gallery 2, Seoul, Korea
Doosan Gallery, New York, USA
2009 Arario New York Solo Show, Arario Gallery, New York, USA
2008 Manchester Ar t Gallery, Manchester, UK
2007 Arario Beijing, Beijing, China
2006 Gwon, Osang, Union II (Opening show), London, UK
The Sculpture, Arario Gallery, Cheonan, Korea
2005 Deodorant Type & The Flat, Andrew Shire Gallery & 4-F Gallery, LA, USA
2001 Deodorant Type, Insa Ar t space, The Korea Culture& Arts foundation, Seoul, Korea
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012 Thoughts on Body, Soma Museum of Ar t, Seoul
RE-OPENING DOOSAN GALLERY, SEOUL, Doosan Gallery, Seoul
Jin (to Advance). Tong(to Communicate), Contemporary Korean Ar t Since the
1990s, Gwangju Museum of Ar t, Gwangju
On Manner of Forming, Edwin Gallery, Jakar ta
2011 The Korean Miracle: A Cultural Evolution, Asia House, London, UK
In association with HADA Contemporary, London, UK
Embracing the Void, Hada Contemporary, London, UK
The Purpose of Life, Pohang Museum of Steel Ar t, Pohang
Chopping Play, ION Gallery, Singapore
Collector’s stage, Singapore Ar t Museum, Singapore
2010 A POSITIVE VIEW, Summerset House, London, UK
Korean Eye, Fantastic Ordinary, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Seoul Museum of Ar t, Seoul, Korea
Korea Foundation, Seoul, Korea
Roundabout Collection, Museum of Wellington, New Zealand
2009 Ar t & Techne, Jeju Museum of Ar t, Jeju, Korea
Peppermint Candy: Contemporary Ar t of Korea, National Museum of Korea,
Gwacheon, Korea
Manipulating Reality, the Center for Contemporary Culture Strozzina,
Florence, Italy
Conflicting Tales - Inaugural Exhibition of the Burger Collection,
Zimmerstrasse, Berlin, Germany
Logic of Sensibility, Interalia Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2008 Youth Por traits, Avanthay Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland
Peppermint Candy: Contemporary Ar t of Korea, The National Museum of Fine
Ar ts, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Asian Ar t Triennale, Manchester Ar t Gallery, Manchester, UK
Global EurAsia Special Exhibition, Ar t Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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2007 Contemporary Korean Ar t : Wonderland, National Ar t of Museum China,
Beijing, China
Peppermint Candy: Contemporary Ar t of Korea, Museo de Ar te
Contemporaneo, Santiago, Chile
Urban Reviews Seoul: Space, People, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen,
Stuttgar t & Berlin, Germany
2006 Give Me Shelter, Union Gallery, London, UK
2005 Beautiful Cynicism, Arario Beijing, Beijing, China
Seoul; Until Now, Charlottenborg Udstillingbygning, Copenhagen, Denmark
Post IMF, Ar tArk Gallery, Shanghai, China
2004 Young Ar tists from Korea, China and Japan, National Museum of
Contemporary Ar t, Gwhachon, Korea
Officina Asia, Galleria d’ar te moderna, Bologna, Italy
Unusual Combination, Plus Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Real Reality, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Out the Window, The Japan Foundation Asia Center, Tokyo, Japan
2003 Unique, Gallery VU, Paris, France
Facing Korea-ID, FOAM- Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mobile, Alternative Space Care Of, Milano, Italy
2002 Orient-Extrime, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, France
Area of Photograph, Museum of Ar t Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Area of Photograph, Sendai mediatheque, Sendai, Japan
Mirror of daily, Pusan Metropolitan Museum of ar t, Busan, Korea
2001 Silence of the city, Gwangju ART Museum, Gwangju, Korea
Alchemy, Sungkok Museum, Seoul, Korea
Family, Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Ar t, Seoul, Korea
2000 Disturbance Exhibition: Selected two person’s exhibition, Boda Gallery,
Seoul, Korea
Join & Expression, Youngeun Museum, Kwangju, Korea
Expression of the Times – eye & hand, Seoul Ar ts Center, Seoul, Korea
Error Interchange, Soungkok Museum, Seoul, Korea
Ji-Rok-Wi-Ma, Seonam Museum, Seoul, Korea
1999 Hoboo-Hohyung, Ar t Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea
Transtion of the Century, Sungkok Museum, Seoul, Korea
Vacuum-packed Exhibition, Alternative Space in the Loop, Seoul, Korea
COLLECTIONS
Singapore Museum of Ar t
Leeum
The National Museum of Contemporary Ar t, Korea
Busan Museum of Ar t, Busan
Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Ar t
Youngeun Museum of Contemporary Ar t, Gwangju
Art Sonje Center
Ssamsie Ar t Space, Seoul
Asano Institute, Japan
Laurence Geoffrey’s, Seoul
Embassy of Switzerland
David Rober ts Ar t Foundation
Zabludowicz Collection
Burger Collection
Roundbout Collection
Universal Music Group
Arario Collection
This catalogue is published by HADA Contemporary to accompany the exhibition:
GWON OSANGPOSTMODERN TIMES
4 APRIL - 31 MAY 2013
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any mean, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without prior written permission from HADA Contemporary Ltd.