
Past
Jong-seok Yoon’s Solo Invitational Exhibition
THE DEEP SURFACE
April 15 (Thur) - May 22(Sat), 2021
Jong-seok Yoon puts down Dots with the Heart of an Ascetic
Being in the age of 50s is going though quite the most crucial period in life, for it is a turning point when regarding 100 years as the lifespan, but it is also the most glamorous and unsettling time considering the weight and responsibilities of life. Even for artists who have been silently walking the path of their calling, their fifties are a time when the sense of unstable satisfaction and excitement intersect. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to meet the works of an artist in his 50s, full of prudence and deep thoughts. Our expectation is that our show of the invited artist Jong-seok Yoon’s works will provide the viewers and guests with a far more marvelous time than ever hoped for.
Yoon is known as “the syringe artist’, due to his painting method of literally filling a syringe with paint after removing its needle and injecting it on canvas. An artist’s painting style often becomes his competence; all artists strive to make themselves distinguishable by choosing an entirely unique media or using a plain media in a unique way. Yoon’s case belongs to the latter. Although he uses the common acrylic paint, the output lavishes a completely different freshness. The elaboration and precision are overwhelming, and the trace of a million touches (injections) is phenomenal.
Artist Yoon had said, “I record my memories as if I were collecting things that come into my sight while looking around. Through their accumulation, I shall be able to see tomorrow’s today through yesterday’s today.” His works are in fact the result of recording and collecting his personal everyday life that passes him by. Yoon takes photos of the things that he wants to keep from what he sees every day, then transfers the ones that are especially inspiring into paintings or drawings. He recreates afterimages of numerous objects through hours spent putting down dots smaller than sesame seeds; His works convey “the dignity of the moment”. Well-woven, yet instinctive freedom coexists.
Because the artist uses a syringe to paint, only one dot is created per “brushstroke” – over a million times of repetitive gesture is needed for one canvas of work to be completed. This is the artist’s own choice of asceticism. As if in the position of a monk, laziness is not acceptable, and the completeness of an artwork results solely from honest labor. We send our heartfelt applause to Yoon’s integrity and manner as an artist.
"My recent works began with the question of what things or situations people respond to among numerous objects and relationships, whether unconsciously or consciously. It is also the process of tracking and digging up the time in history associated with selected images. I look for how they connect with me in the present, and what messages can this past leave to the future. This may be a way to get to know myself built up from layers of my past, just like some mind test that lets you in on yourself by answering questions step by step.”
As Yoon had mentioned, his recent works are like “the mind game played between the self in the past and the future”. He had been using a syringe and laid millions of dotted paints for quite some time, but the craftsmanship after the year 2020 are especially phenomenal. The numbers in parenthesis of each title holds a key to understanding the secret of the piece. While surfing the web, Yoon would encounter images that he finds interesting, then he would do an additional research of them; for example, find out what had happened on the same date of the past as he had done the research, select three to four images that grab his attention, then connect one or two among them with the image that he was initially drawn to and reinterpret them by the artist’s own creativity.
As you can see, artist Jong-seok Yoon stays wary of laziness and continues his labor-intensive painting method, from which we can perceive his conviction as an artist and the nobility of his paintings. Although they are born from personal experiences and sentiments, his works embody power to move countless viewers. The exhibition title of symbolizes that. No one can tell the depth of something by just gazing at its surface. Just as the waves of the Milky Way in the night sky indicate the depth of the universe, numerous dots marked on canvas cover the depth of the artistic inspiration that Yoon presents. It is our profound joy to be able to introduce the artworks of Jong-seok Yoon who is true to the utmost basics.
* Directed by Yoon-sub Kim (CEO of AIf Art Management)
* Hosted by Nari Kim (CEO of HORI Art Space)
* Sponsored by ONE MEDICS INDUSTRY