PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Gimhongsok entitled Good Labor Bad Art, as part of our continuing commitment to broadening the discourse of Korean contemporary art by introducing its most controversial and dynamic developments. Examining Gimhongsok's unique oeuvre marked by its juxtaposition of acute criticism of reality and shrewd sense of humor, the title of the exhibition suggests ethical judgment of two seemingly disparate realms, but at the same time opens up the potential gaps between the two and the possibility of their coexistence that is constantly revisited by the artist in his works.

Focusing on the inevitable consequences of culture translation within the globalized capitalist system, Gimhongsok has consistently explored the issues of translation and appropriation, as well as the public and private through a wide variety of medium. As a result, the dynamics between the center and margin, along with the subject and object confronted in the process has prompted the artist to propose the ethical politics of contemporary art as his new agenda. Probing the void between the mythicized artist and the artwork as his creation, the artist delves deep into the question of the 'subject of the artwork' by examining issues such as the changing value of artwork based on its material or collaborators replacing the artist's physical labor. Consequently, the artist attempts to foreground the ethical issues outside the contemporary art practice into its realm. The artist's new lecture performance, Good Critique Bad Critique Strange Critique (2013), in particular, highlights the process of social consensus between the artist and others, revealing their transaction of intellectual labor and financial compensation, by implementing the practice of art criticism and lecture as part of the work itself.

Testing the boundaries of contemporary art by constantly shifting between the realms of reality and fiction, the artist appears to willingly volunteer the role of the 'trickster' through his often contradictory and controversial strategies. However, beneath the surface lies his grave introspection on the issues of ethical practice and the artistic subject in the age of postcapitalism. His direct yet unconventional ways of examining the contemporary art practice will not only provoke a sense of simultaneous discomfort and curiosity, but also constantly stimulate the limits of our own perception.

*image (left)
A Study on Slanted and Hyperbolic Constitution-LOVE, 2011
© Gimhongsok
Courtesy of PLATEAU