akive

Haegue Yang


2011 Art Basel Miami Beach Special Exhibition «Two Winters»

○ Exhibition Information
Artist: Haegue Yang (1971-)
Title: Two Winters
Duration: December 1– December 4, 2011
Venue: Art Basel Miami Beach, M Building
Website: www.artbaselmiamibeach.com
Contact: Zoe Chun 02)3210-9885

○ Exhibition Introduction

Kukje Gallery is pleased to present Haegue Yang’s Two Winters at the M Building (formerly Perrotin Gallery) in Miami’s Wynwood District. The artist will present works arranged and conceived specifically for the space.

Filled with natural light, the M Building will provide the artist with an optimal setting in which to showcase her works. For this new installation, Yang will revive themes first explored in her
2007 work Yes-I-Know-Screen as well as creating a new Trustworthy collage installation along side free-standing light sculptures specially made in the context of Miami’s surroundings.

The wide-open floor plan has been transformed into different corners and little sections divided by the screens. These ephemeral pockets serve as unique spaces in which to showcase three new light sculptures as well as two of the artist’s recent works (completed in 2010-2011) titled Site Cubes. Often described in anthropomorphic terms, the light sculptures have hybrid characteristics as defined both by their illumination as well as the many eccentric items that hang from their armatures. In contrast, the Site Cubes reference minimalism while at the same time exploring possible narratives themes by using prosaic domestic items such as candles and vases. Yang is also interested in investigating the mysterious aspects of everyday life by evoking shamanism and the ritual use of objects. Her interest in the phenomenon of longing and wistfulness is continued on the walls, with four groupings of collage works Trustworthies. An ongoing series since 2010, Trustworthies are created using the patterned inside prints of letters, providing yet another uncanny vocabulary for exploring issues of communication and travel.

Together these disparate works create a dynamic narrative experience that investigates both substantive formal inquiries as well as critical contemporary issues of migrating identity as suggested by her title Two Winters. The idea of traveling between seasons, an experience Yang had flying between her homes in Berlin and Seoul to manufacture the works and then to Miami for their installation resulted in a kind of “migrating production” with the artist spanning a metaphoric bridge over the three continents of Europe, Asia and America — thereby experiencing first hand each places' winter season.


Two Winters is commissioned and organized by Kukje Gallery, Seoul who have worked closely with the artist since 2009, co-producing successful exhibitions including major installations at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria and New Museum, New York.