Sunjin Galleries brings together three Asian artists Hwang Sae Jin, Masato Shigemori and Seo Bo Ram, each distinct in style and technique, yet united by their reminiscence of the past. Viewers are treated to a stunning visual feast through Hwang’s signature compositions comprising hundreds of floral cloth fragments carefully pieced together. The Korean artist uses the motif of the flower to critique modern notions of commercial, artificial beauty, lamenting the loss of traditional, natural purity.
Shigemori ponders the loss of traditional Japanese 19th century art forms and the blurring of boundaries brought about by the import and export of contrasting cultures. His androgynous, ageless characters and heavy use of traditional symbols expresses the fusion resonance of Japanese and Western cultures.
Nostalgia is most prominently featured in Seo who endlessly re-creates his memories of the past, interspersing childhood stories with items from modern living, as if commenting on the impossibility of separating the present from the past. Reminiscence runs until May 22.
About the Artists
Hwang Sae Jin was born in 1982 in Seoul, Korean and completed her BFA in Painting at Ewha Women’s University in 2006. In 2007, she was awarded the 2nd Contemporary Woman Artist Special Selection by the Woman Arts Association and in 2009, the 9th Songeun Art Award by the Songeun Arts and Cultural Foundation. Her intricate work is rendered in acrylic with pieces of floral cloth, typically taking about 1-6 months to complete. She is extremely carefully in expressing a garment’s natural flowing pleats, light and shade and her seasoned technique is evident in her highly textured compositions that achieve light and shade typical of oil paintings.
Born in 1979 in Hiroshima, Japan, Masato Shigemori is a contemporary artist who grew up being exposed to Western culture yet retains a strong sense of Japanese consciousness. His works are influenced by traditional arts such as ukiyo-e, bijinga and kachoga (paintings of the ether world, beautiful women, birds and flowers) that met their decline in 19th century Japan with the advent of Japonism. His style is evocative of retro-futurism and he has exhibited on numerous occasions in Japan.
A Korean contemporary artist employing a nearly-extinct traditional technique of rendering powdered paint and fine brushwork on rice paper, Seo Bo Ram is particularly concerned with things from the past as they are of great value and preciousness being authentic products of long history and tradition. He believes in the creation of tradition and imagination, alluding drawers to ‘magic boxes’ and filling them with memories and stories of childhood and first loves. Seo was awarded the No. 27th special prize at Grand Art Exhibition of Daegu Contemporary Art in 2007.
