In our everyday life, things that happen repeatedly are often overlooked or taken for granted. Yet, these everyday rituals a lot of times symbolize our current situation or reflect our unconscious reaction to the society that we are in. Talented and well-known Japanese and Korean artists including Hiroshi Kobayashi, Yoon Jong Seok, Kim Dong Yoo, Kim Joon, Bahk Seon Ghi, and Choi Tae Hoon find inspirations from the commonly found images, symbols, furniture, and toys. Through these sources, they observe and re-contemplate the world around us. A vibrant exhibition that gathers the works by the artists listed above will take place in Asia Art Center (Taipei) starting the last Saturday of June, 2010. This collection of our everyday splendor will include works in various media: paintings, sculptures, and digital photographs.

Hiroshi Kobayashi’s paintings combine the style of traditional Japanese wood print and elements from photography and comics. The floating stuffed animals, painted in pale blue similar to the color of our old photographs, bring out the memory of our childhood and take us back to the time when life is still carefree and warm. Yoon Jong Seok’s paintings create optical illusions. In his works, dots in colors compose the forms of pieces of apparel that are folded into the shape of a gun, a dog, or other objects. The layers of symbols broaden the meaning behind the pieces. In the portraits by Kim Dong Yoo, every iconic celebrity is composed by the smaller portraits of another famous icon. These works not only play with the viewers’ optical reaction, but also investigate people’s perception on famous people whose images we see daily. Kim Joon paints digitally, his colorful photos transform commercial symbols into human figures. With the logos of luxury goods “tattooed” onto the cropped human bodies, wild and colorful images are formed. Bahk Seon Ghi’s sculptures are the reinterpretations of our everyday objects such as chairs, cups, and books. These white sculptures stand just as quietly as everyday objects do in our lives. They may not have a strong presence, but they certainly take a significant place in our lives. Choi Tae Hoon’s stainless steel sculptures also give everyday objects a different light. This time, Choi places light inside the sculptures. And, as the light shines through the sculptures, the presence of the object expands and softly drifts in the air.

In this exhibition, new meanings will be found. We, by looking at this group of artist’s reinterpretations of our everyday images and objects, will be encouraged to take another look around us. Unexpressed emotions, undiscovered insight, and disregarded memories may come to life and turn our life attitude a whole new way around.