Latest news with #MuseumSan
Korea Herald
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Art is last bastion of humanity: Antony Gormley
British sculptor's first project in which artwork and architecture grow together is unveiled at Museum San in collaboration with architect Tadao Ando British sculptor Antony Gormley has investigated the human body through the language of sculpture. His meditation on the human form that began early in his career has expanded over the past five decades. Gormley appeared Thursday at the newly opened space named 'Ground' at the Museum San in Wonju, Gangwon Province, created in collaboration with the Japanese artist and architect Tadao Ando. Reminiscent of a subterranean cave, the opening of "Ground" faces northeast towards the mountains. Seven sculptures from the artist's 'Blockworks' series, created out of rusted iron and taking form of a human body, are dispersed throughout the 25-meter round interior space. In Gormley's art, such rustiness is crucial to embodying humanity. 'Rust is very important to me,' Gormley told the press. 'Because this is how the nature of iron in relation to air expresses itself. The red of iron, when exposed to oxygen, is the same as the red in our blood, which does a very important job in terms of transmitting oxygen from the air to our muscles.' The quiet and meditative space replicates the spherical nature of the planet. The sunlight that comes through the ceiling and the opening toward the outside makes the space into a solar clock. 'A piece of sculpture is still and silent,' he said. 'But it waits for our movement, our thinking, our feeling. I hope these seven stopping places (of sculptures) wait for your projection of your thinking and your feeling into the space. 'I look forward to the continuation of the development of this work because the work does not exist until there are people who are looking, feeling and participating in this space.' The artist expressed gratitude to Ando, saying the place is a 'fulfillment of his dream' to make a singular work where sculpture, architecture, light and nature come together. Humanity emerged as a dominant concern when the artist spoke of his works and the new space during the press tour, which resonates in a time when technologies such as artificial intelligence continuously gain prominence. Creating sculptures with an artist's touch and appreciating such art are a way for people to engage with the body, the artist said. 'We have to be careful to retain our animal natures. Wet brains will not be replaced by dry ones,' he said. 'If we are not careful, we will lose that part of being human — that ability to respond to other bodies living and materials with which we share the world. 'I believe that art is the final ground on which we have to recover our humanity. It sounds very desperate. I am not desperate, but I am aware how fragile the collective future is,' he said. 'Drawing on Space,' another exhibition of Gormely's works, including a site-specific aluminum installation "Orbit Field II," is also running at the museum through Nov. 30.
Korea Herald
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
How light is revealed: James Turrell, Salvo visit Seoul
At Pace Gallery, Turrell reveals light itself through space; at Gladstone, Salvo captures it in paintings inspired by his travels American light master James Turrell is familiar to Korean audiences through his monumental installations at Museum San in Wonju, Gangwon Province, where five of his works, created solely with light and space, offer a meditative experience. The exhibition 'The Return,' at Pace Gallery in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, shows Turrell's five recent installations, including the never-before-seen piece 'Wedgework,' made specifically for the Seoul exhibition. Turrell's exhibition, which runs through Sept. 27, is his first solo show in Seoul since 2008. 'I really wanted people to treasure light. I had hoped to try to use light itself rather than the depiction of it. We are creatures that very much respond to light, and for me, that is where the power of light resides,' Turrell told reporters Wednesday. Spanning three floors of the gallery, the exhibition features a selection of photographs and works on paper that shed light on the artist's process for his installations. Working with the materiality of light and space, Turrell is a key member of the California Light and Space Movement initiated in the 1960s. 'In the end, I am an artist and I want to pass to you a piece of light. I would like to give you this experience of light itself. Not every piece is as successful as another piece. This is how life is … I have to tell you that art has always dealt with things beyond how we normally think of something," Turrell said. Arne Glimcher, Pace's founder and chairman, first met Turrell some 60 years ago, and the gallery has represented the artist since 2002. An online reservation is required to visit the exhibition as the gallery admits only 20 people to each session to prevent congestion. Another exhibition featuring light effects unfolds at Gladstone Gallery in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Italian artist Salvo enjoyed using light effects in his works, some of which evoke sunsets or sunrises, as in the paintings 'Tre Colonne' and 'Forte dei Marmi.' At Gladstone, the exhibition 'Salvo, in Viaggio (Salvo Traveling)' is the Italian master's first solo show in the country. 'It is the first show of his to discuss the theme of a 'journey.' There are many works displayed to the public for the first time as well. I hope many who visit the show can enjoy their time traveling into the unique world of Salvo,' said Norma Mangione, co-founder of Archivio Salvo, at the press opening on May 29. The exhibition spans from 1988 to 2015, the year the artist died. The paintings depict both real and imagined landscapes inspired by the artist's travels across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia, featuring Salvo's visual aesthetic, characterized by expressive landscapes in vivid color. Beginning with his first trip to Afghanistan in the summer of 1969, Salvo's frequent journeys became a recurring source of inspiration. His paintings depict scenes from areas he lived in or visited, incorporating regional architectural motifs and native plant species, according to the gallery. The exhibition runs through July 12.
