akive

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Landscape paintings are considered conventional and boring among many in the cutting-edge contemporary art scene. “(Im)Possible Landscape,” a new exhibition by 13 artists at Plateau in downtown Seoul, challenges such stereotype.

“This exhibit is designed to reinterpret contemporary art through landscapes. We thought it could be a way of overcoming the dilemma of contemporary art, which is caught in self-contradiction,” Ahn So-yeon, deputy director of Plateau, said. “We feature a new concept of landscapes at this exhibition.”

Kim So-ra maximized the use of introductory space where Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell” and “The Burghers of Calais” are on permanent exhibit. She weaves a theme of hunting where silver drapes adorn “Landscape: A diffusing movement gradually distancing from a single point.”

However, the work is multidisciplinary and completed with sound created in collaboration with composer Jang Young-gyu. With help from a hunters’ association in Korea, Kim and Jang accompanied a hunting party, recorded sounds and Jang rearranged them. With the added sound, Kim’s landscape becomes rawer.

Kang Hong-goo’s photographs show scenes from redevelopment zones. However, the photos are touched up with computer graphics or acrylic paint. His work “Greenbelt-Sehando” evokes images of “Sehando” (A Winter Scene) by the famed Joseon-era painter Chusa Kim Jeong-hui. He tries to remember disappearing landscapes in a classy way, which is impossible in reality.

Some artists take a different approach to the idea of landscape. Kim Beom wrote three sentences — “LOOK AT THIS BLUE SKY. STARE AT THIS TREES. LOOK AT THE FLOWING RIVER HERE.” — on an empty canvas of “Landscape #1.” These are just words on a canvas, but it makes the viewers imagine their own landscapes, inspired by the sentences.

Chung Seo-young presents two big white spheres named “Snowball.” It looks simple and clean, but it might revoke various thoughts from childhood memories to anxiety. The artist thought this piece is proper for the landscape-themed exhibit because it “reflects various, shifting relationships between different dimensions of nature.”

Other works by Chung, “Monster Map” series, are maps that make viewers get lost, not find their way. This echoes Chung’s idea of a map, which is developed by experience, not knowledge.

Media artist Oh Yong-seok takes final scenes from movies, usually landscapes, for his work “Without Ending.” Oh created an endless loop of images, connecting their horizons.

Kim Dong-yeon’s works are more architectural. His interest in urban architectures created “The Holy City 12,” which looks like a city under construction or in ruins. A structural piece “Interchange 12” is actually a miniature of interchanges in New York.

Rhee Ki-bong’s “Hole of Solaris” invites viewers to a foggy landscape. Fog or steam, which are often used in Rhee’s works, symbolize decay and gloom. Knowledge, represented by books, are decomposed and burnt in Rhee’s scenery.

Lee Bul re-creates history in a three-dimensional landscape of “Mon Grand Recit: Weep into Stones...” In this work, renowned modern architectural structures are attached to an enormous column and Lee creates a new, fake history with them.

Kim Na-young and Gregory Maass, an artist duo also stylized as Nayoungim & Gregory S. Maass, presented “Acceptance,” a neon light work saying “PERFECT.” The piece is exhibited outdoors, a tiny space between galleries of Plateau, and viewers can see them from a glass wall. “Acceptance” enlightens how such neon signs have become a part of the modern, urban landscape.

Other artists Kim Hong-joo, Moon Beom, Lee Sea-hyun, and Kong Sung-hoon also participated in this exhibit.

“(Im)Possible Landscape” runs through Feb. 3, 2013. Admission is 3,000 won for adults and 2,000 won for students. A docent program is available at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. Rhee will have a talk with viewers on Saturday and Chung on Jan. 12. For more information, visit www.plateau.or.kr or call 1577-7595.

http://koreatimes.co.kr