AndrewShire Gallery, Singapore, is proud to present Chopping Play – Korean Contemporary Art Now, a groundbreaking exhibition by six Korean artists, Gwon Osang, Shin Kiwoun, Son Donghyun, Yee Sookyung, Chung Suejin, and Chun Sungmyung, to be held at ION Art Gallery from February 12-20, 2011.

Gwon Osang, Shin Kiwoun, Son Donghyun, Yeesookyung, Chung Suejin, and Chun Sungmyung, are very well-recognized contemporary Korean artists in their 30's and 40's who have come to epitomize the bold flair and creative vision that differentiates contemporary Korean art from their broad Asian peer group. Their evocative and dramatic works have been at the very epicenter of the transformation in Korean contemporary art, heralded by the epochal Gwangju Biennale in 1995, embracing diverse values, globalization, and a determined assertion of self, through conceptual and installation art, highlighted by the bold use of alternative spaces.

As the exhibition title Chopping Play suggests, the participating artists dis-assemble and then, re-assemble the physical, spatial, and temporal elements, thereby transforming what was. Their works embed themselves in our psyches, challenging our perceptions, and our pre-conceived stream of consciousness. The distinctions between their creative and evocative artistic visions, stand in stark contrast to the more conventional and traditional interpretations.

Ask not “what” they have “cooked up” for you; instead, focus on the “ingredients” and the unique “recipes,” and how the tastes and the aromas linger and transform the conventional and the accepted.

Gwon Osang constructs a solid figure with two-dimensional photographs. He takes photographs of parts of the human body, and then attaches those photographs onto the surface of the figure. He also sometimes cuts out images from advertisements, and then reassembles them in a dramatically different landscape. The illusionary method of constructing a solid and a plane changes the characteristics of the original material completely.

Son Donghyun chooses contemporary icons from popular media as the subject matter in traditional Korean painting, reversing the concept of the conventional. His use of traditional materials and techniques finds powerful expression through readily identifiable motifs and themes that demand a fresh perspective. Thus, unfettered by the burden of tradition, his works have this unique quality of drawing on popular icons and images, to memorably burnish the traditional Korean painting.

Shin Kiwoun takes continuous shots for moving objects in burst mode and constructs them into a work of moving images. The screen repeatedly presents the image of the smashing object being re-shaped or being dissolved through the manipulation of time.

Yee Sookyung reassembles fragments of discarded ceramics which were destroyed in the kiln, thus creating a completely unique new piece of ceramic art. The process of sealing the joints is done on impulse; hence, it is impossible to predict the outcome – until it is finally completed. The precondition is that the re-created ceramic piece should be spherical in shape, requiring therefore, meticulous attention to detail, and infinite care as the fragments come together, with the joints being sealed with gold - wounds, being painstakingly healed by the artist.

Chung Suejin arrangement of objects on the canvas reminds us of the divisions in space in a state of constant motion. Appearing somewhat irregular, the composition on the canvas actually reveals great symmetry, testimony to the artist’s logical flow of thoughts in space. Starting from repetitive division of two-dimensional horizontal and vertical planes, the composition inexorably moves toward the division of three-dimensional space, with images floating on canvas.

Chun Sungmyung deconstructs his image with an intensity that looks deep within the emotional core, while retaining a clear image of the external manifestation. The characters invite us to substitute them with the artist's image, or even our own. We feel a deep affinity with the artist, because we, like him, can extract these feelings from our own immature ego, constantly aware of the mirror image buried deep within.