From her first one-man exhibition in 1991 to subsequent one-man exhibition in 1994 and 1997 up to her presentĖ™exhibition, sculptor Cho Sook Uey's works have consistently focused on a search for man's spirituality within the framework of Catholic sculpture. The artist, who studied Giacomo Manz's Catholic sculptures at graduate school, has embarked on an in-depth search for the essence of Catholic art ever since. As a fruit of her search, the present exhibition seeks to offer views on the new millennium.
The essence of sculpture that the artist has pursued through her three previous one-man exhibitions lies in the visualization of "holiness." In early works such as the Keeper of Life(1990) and Baby Jesus Walking Toward Us(1991), she sought a realistic model of iconic sculpture through modeling that was highly confessional. On the other hand, later works such as the Standing Man(1993), Young Bird(1994), Man: Semitransparent(1994),Shepherd(1996), and Girl Holding a Fish (1996) concentrated on interpreting the spirituality hidden in human nature by somewhat toning down realistic modeling while intensifying simplification, abstraction, and symbolization.
Reflecting and looking back on Cho's search during the past decade, the works presented at this exhibition further abbreviate aspects that need to be compressed and very freely open up aspects that need to be newly explored; in other words, they reveal a new development for a new age. Seen in terms of the artist herself, this marks an important phase during which she attempts to show a new direction for iconic sculptures and for an even more sophisticated way of exploring spirituality.
Defining the two most important aspects of the world of works by Cho as "holiness" and "existence," I shall attempt to read her works through the will and impulse of "existence"(man) to arrive at "holiness." This reflects what the artist has realized through her continued search. In addition, she has increasingly focused on her attempt to bring about an encounter between holiness and existence with a more open mind during the recent period of her new development.
We can discover two characteristics in such recent approaches. First, the artist's discourse that mentions or meditates on the theme of holiness has become richer. Departing from her previous and rather monotonous expressions focusing on human figures, the artist has strengthened her attempt to represent the message or statement that she wishes to communicate. As a case in point, we can take the example of a bronze sculpturetitled Love Asks Not Whither It Goes, which is one of Cho's works presented at this exhibition. Dealing with the religious determination of a monk who walks on a lonely path with the help only of a staff, this work expresses the comparatively simple discourse of 'ask not Whence love comes nor whither it goes" as its main theme, While describing in detail the straightforward gaze, firmly closed lips, and thick hands typical of Koreans, the artist has boldly omitted other parts. Whereas realistic modeling has been omitted almost completely, the body has been treated as a cylinder approximating a simple three dimension. Many such changes are to be found in Cho's other works as well, some of which may be enumerated thus. Making use of various methods including relief on marble, painting, and relief on terra cotta, the Path of the Cross, Piet. The Weeping Christ, and Gentiles and Christ communicate the message of "those who have lived through life in a holy and pure way yield themselves to God in the end" while, at the same time, representing alienation, despair, sadness, pain, and the joy of encounter. Works such as Christ and His Mother in the Stable, Christ and His Mother Raising the Church, Mother, and Family symbolize joy, mercy, and God's invisible hand in addition to the comparatively long message og "we see the paragon of holiness in mothers, who bear children, and mothers' big hands are like the courage that suffers and accepts all." Finally, works such as Contrite: The Font and the Altar of the Crown of Thorns communicate the theme of “always remember Christ, who redeemed man through his death on the Cross" and recount various anecdotes related to Christ's body by cataloguing and imprinting upon the viewer's mind images such as fish, young birds, the Cross, the crown of thorns, and altars.
In addition to the richness of discourse, another important characteristic of Cho's latest works lies in her intensification of the "compressive form" through abbreviation and simplification. Works such as the Annunciation, Contrite: The Font, and Love Asks Not Whither It Goes highlight this characteristic. Generally, her latest works omit all detailed modeling whatsoever, as in the examples cited above, or, as in series such as the Weeping Christ, Christ Lifting the Cross, and Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me, treat forms with the drawing method, or, as in works such as Christ and His Mother Raising the Church, and Contrite: The Font, treat specific motifs in an allegorical way, thus revealing the artist's interest in symbolic systems.
To be frank, another noticeable characteristic of Cho's latest works is a stronger intention of mitigating strictness and detail in the treatment of materials. In the case of works such as the Font and the Altar of the Crown of Thorns, which aim at a ritual quality, the materials are treated in a comparatively careful manner despite the symbolism of the motifs. In other works, where many aspects are omitted and compressed, however, the materials are treated boldly.
In other words, Cho's latest works seem to be confessions of artist's meditations on "holiness" that reflect her years and inner life. Conversely, her latest works may be viewed as the representations of the existential quest that is recorded in her autobiographical confessions. In particular, series such as Family and Love Asks Not Whither It Goes reveal and reflect the holiness that has been filtered from the artist's existential experiences such as the joys and sorrows of life. While showing the body to be oppressed with and disfigured through the sorrows of life, these works nevertheless reveal that the straightforward gaze and the big hands are replete with the love of humanity and the commitment to goodness held by one who seeks the true way.
The true significance of this exhibition of latest works by Cho lies in the fact that artist has attempted to reconstruct the world of true holiness as filtered from her experiences through iconic sculptures. In other words, she has attempted to pave the way for new iconic sculptures that can be understood through the mirror of her existence by departing from existing modes.
