Opening Reception
2015.11.14（sat）15:00
at Tokyo Gallery+BTAP | Beijing
Curator : Hang Du
This year Tokyo Gallery + BTAP is pleased to present Korean artist Sim Moon Seup’s solo show “The Presentation – To the Island”, held from November 14th until December 15th.
Shim Moon Seup (1943-) is a renowned contemporary artist from Korea who graduated in 1965 from the Faculty of Arts of Seoul National University. His early artworks originally leaned more toward sculpture and installation. Yet despite his formation as a sculptor Shim Moon Seup eventually turned towards photography. This exhibit showcases the paintings and photographic works created by Shim Moon Seup throughout his career. Whether in his spatial installations, paintings or photographic works, Shim Moon Seup has always retained a keen insight into “mood” (ganjue) and managed to discover certain transitory conditions that provide the viewer with food for thought. From his series of two-dimensional works on canvas, the viewer doesn’t merely perceive the trials and tribulations of a painter. Instead, enigmatic instances unfurl before our eyes, created by the pulsating rhythm of the paintbrush. The artist surrenders to the whims of the trembling and sliding paintbrush, thereby attaining a realm in which he is “at the mercy of the wind and the waves, letting himself be driven by the current”. The memories he gathered from his naked encounters with bare nature during his long bygone childhood come floating upwards spontaneously in the trail of his brushstrokes.
This exhibit is entitled “The Presentation – To The Island”. Shim Moon Seup permanently resides in Tongyeong, Korea, an island city flanked by the sea on three sides. This specific environment has left its marks on the artist’s creative practice. Just as is the case with his living and working environment of Tongyeong, Korea, the works showcased in this exhibit all depict a serene oceanic beauty: although the depicted moments are static, their temporal undercurrent remains in constant flux. For his artistic creation, Shim Moon Seup’s doesn’t rigidly adhere to the primary state of the materials used or ready-made objects. He bases himself on the relation between two different objects to constantly construct new languages and chains of signification. This makes the meaning conveyed by his works both uncannily mysterious and disconcertingly murky, prompting Korean artist Lee Ufan to describe the works as the delightful naivety of ‘sprites and hobgoblins’.
