Art & Seoul
Samcheong-dong
I had tried to set up a meeting with Bahk Seon Ghi, but he was in Europe so I had to settle for a meeting with his gallery, SUN Gallery.
My meeting wasn't until noon, but I decided to have breakfast in Samcheong-dong since MC had recommended that I try sujaebi, a soup with pasta, at Samcheong-dong Sujaebi (apparently, this place is known for this local dish). But by the time I saw the restaurant from across the street, I was craving my usual latte and remembered that JC said I'd probably prefer the cafes serving waffles and French toast instead. And wouldn't you know it, on my side of the street, was Cafe 62-16 by TeaStory. I wandered in ready to order their crepes, but unfortunately, their crepe maker was not working. So I had their brunch waffle instead, which came with bacon, egg, sausage, salad on top of a green tea waffle. With a cup of skim latte, it was the perfect comfort breakfast on a wet and chilly morning.
After breakfast, I strolled down the street with its quaint shops, sleek galleries, restaurants and lots of cute, little cafes like Cafe 62-16. It reminded me a little bit of the small streets in Daikanyama. On a sunny day, it would be prefect for a Sunday morning post-brunch stroll. Being a bit under-dressed for the weather, I walked briskly towards SUN Gallery to avoid the eventual downpour. Christine was already there. We went through Bahk's portfolio. She had just visited his studio a week or so ago and she seemed quite smitten with him. She kept insisting that I should meet him next time I'm in Seoul. "It's a shame you can't meet him this time," she said, "because you'd be good friends. He's very friendly." He showed me pictures of his studio, which is about an hour or so outside of Seoul. There were pictures of individual pieces of charcoal laid out meticulously on the floor. He gets huge amounts of charcoal delivered every day.
After going through Bahk's works, she offered to take me around some of the other galleries nearby. Again, there was that Seoul hospitality. We walked over to Kukje Gallery's New Space where they had an impressive show on of Anselm Kiefer's works. The gallery also owns The Restaurant, which is next to the main gallery facing the street (whereas the New Space is in a building behind SUN Gallery). Christine joked that The Restaurant has to be expensive in order to support the galleries when they don't manage to sell any art. Next stop was Hakgojae, which had an exhibition of stunning wall installations of oil-on-canvas paintings by Choi Insun. Choi's canvases are seductively tactile. The paints are layered on so heavily in places, giving them a sculptural quality. As we were leaving, the owner gave me a monograph of the artist's works and an umbrella; as it had really started to pour. Yet more soul-warming, Seoul warmth on a cold day.
Kim Joon & Nancy Lang
We were scheduled to meet Nancy Lang in front of the Insa-dong Starbucks at 6pm. "You won't miss it," said RK. "It's the only Starbucks with its name in Korean (스 타 박 스)." Nancy is incredibly spunky. Her outfit that day made me think of Harajuku girls. She had on black patent leather pumps with knee-high black socks and a black-and-white checked Heidi-ish dress. She was just missing the pigtails.With her long, jet-black hair down, she looked like the darker Asian twin of a yodeling Swiss Heidi. One of her Taboo Yogini works was on show at a nearby gallery. At the entrance to the building, a couple of ladies were handing out flyers to the restaurant downstairs. One of the ladies spoke to Nancy and then Nancy beamed, "They just gave us a discount, so we should eat there. It's traditional Korean food."
We went up to the gallery and she explained the symbolism behind her work. A lot of it has to do with the women's intuition and power, on the one hand, and their vulnerabilities on the other hand. There was a reason for each visual element in the mixed-media works. She explained that she often put a Louis Vuitton bag in, because she loves Louis Vuitton handbags. That's probably why LV commissioned her to produce a work for one of their events. On this particular day, she was carrying a Gucci canvas bag with pink leather trim. "It's raining," she explained. "I don't want to ruin my Louis Vuitton bags."
Kim Joon joined us for dinner in the basement restaurant. Nancy ordered the traditional meal with lots of little dishes and limitless re-fills. I can't remember how many dishes we had, but there was beef, pork, fish, along with several vegetable dishes, glass noodles and pancake. I requested a bibimbap, because RK had forgotten to order it the night before and I just had to try this in Seoul.
Kim Joon doesn't really speak English, so Nancy and RK did most of the translating. His works, I learned, were not photographs at all. I had initially thought that he shot real models and then digitally layered the patterns on top of their skin. It turns out, everything is a digital creation; no photography involved. His works are an exploration of the social, cultural and psychological meanings behind tattoos. As we were finishing up our meal, Kim Joon suggested we head over to his place to see some of his works. Once again, I was surprised by the show of hospitality. On arrival, we were greeted by his beautiful wife and absolutely adorable and precocious 18-month-old daughter. Kim Joon's works are mesmerising, but his daughter is the masterpiece.
It was great seeing how locals live, but even more interesting to see how an artist lives. I always imagine messy studios, but because all of Kim Joon's recent works are done on computers, his "studio" was more like a study. And his house seemed like any other house, complete with garden. It was very comfortable, homey and normal.
Leeum Samsung Museum of Art
The final art stop of the trip was the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. Everyone raves about this musuem. It's got a great collection housed in great buildings. My favourite is Rem Koolhaas' Samsung Child Education & Culture Center. Museum 1 is designed by Mario Botta, while Museum 2 is designed by Jean Nouvel. This is an instance where the architecture doesn't try to steal the spotlight from the artworks (Miho Museum is a case where the architecture overshadows the collection). I loved the fact that the first piece greeting me at the entrance of Museum 2 was an Anish Kapoor -- a burgundy-coloured, concave mirror. The most fun, though, was an installation by Park Kiwon in the Koolhaas building. The piece, entitled Vacuum, is a room with all its walls and ceiling covered with industrial grease with the ground covered in inflatable square cushions. The museum has an audio guide that tells you about each piece as you stand in front of it. It's a well-done guide, well worth the 2,000won.
I had tried to set up a meeting with Bahk Seon Ghi, but he was in Europe so I had to settle for a meeting with his gallery, SUN Gallery.
My meeting wasn't until noon, but I decided to have breakfast in Samcheong-dong since MC had recommended that I try sujaebi, a soup with pasta, at Samcheong-dong Sujaebi (apparently, this place is known for this local dish). But by the time I saw the restaurant from across the street, I was craving my usual latte and remembered that JC said I'd probably prefer the cafes serving waffles and French toast instead. And wouldn't you know it, on my side of the street, was Cafe 62-16 by TeaStory. I wandered in ready to order their crepes, but unfortunately, their crepe maker was not working. So I had their brunch waffle instead, which came with bacon, egg, sausage, salad on top of a green tea waffle. With a cup of skim latte, it was the perfect comfort breakfast on a wet and chilly morning.
After breakfast, I strolled down the street with its quaint shops, sleek galleries, restaurants and lots of cute, little cafes like Cafe 62-16. It reminded me a little bit of the small streets in Daikanyama. On a sunny day, it would be prefect for a Sunday morning post-brunch stroll. Being a bit under-dressed for the weather, I walked briskly towards SUN Gallery to avoid the eventual downpour. Christine was already there. We went through Bahk's portfolio. She had just visited his studio a week or so ago and she seemed quite smitten with him. She kept insisting that I should meet him next time I'm in Seoul. "It's a shame you can't meet him this time," she said, "because you'd be good friends. He's very friendly." He showed me pictures of his studio, which is about an hour or so outside of Seoul. There were pictures of individual pieces of charcoal laid out meticulously on the floor. He gets huge amounts of charcoal delivered every day.
After going through Bahk's works, she offered to take me around some of the other galleries nearby. Again, there was that Seoul hospitality. We walked over to Kukje Gallery's New Space where they had an impressive show on of Anselm Kiefer's works. The gallery also owns The Restaurant, which is next to the main gallery facing the street (whereas the New Space is in a building behind SUN Gallery). Christine joked that The Restaurant has to be expensive in order to support the galleries when they don't manage to sell any art. Next stop was Hakgojae, which had an exhibition of stunning wall installations of oil-on-canvas paintings by Choi Insun. Choi's canvases are seductively tactile. The paints are layered on so heavily in places, giving them a sculptural quality. As we were leaving, the owner gave me a monograph of the artist's works and an umbrella; as it had really started to pour. Yet more soul-warming, Seoul warmth on a cold day.
Kim Joon & Nancy Lang
We were scheduled to meet Nancy Lang in front of the Insa-dong Starbucks at 6pm. "You won't miss it," said RK. "It's the only Starbucks with its name in Korean (스 타 박 스)." Nancy is incredibly spunky. Her outfit that day made me think of Harajuku girls. She had on black patent leather pumps with knee-high black socks and a black-and-white checked Heidi-ish dress. She was just missing the pigtails.With her long, jet-black hair down, she looked like the darker Asian twin of a yodeling Swiss Heidi. One of her Taboo Yogini works was on show at a nearby gallery. At the entrance to the building, a couple of ladies were handing out flyers to the restaurant downstairs. One of the ladies spoke to Nancy and then Nancy beamed, "They just gave us a discount, so we should eat there. It's traditional Korean food."
We went up to the gallery and she explained the symbolism behind her work. A lot of it has to do with the women's intuition and power, on the one hand, and their vulnerabilities on the other hand. There was a reason for each visual element in the mixed-media works. She explained that she often put a Louis Vuitton bag in, because she loves Louis Vuitton handbags. That's probably why LV commissioned her to produce a work for one of their events. On this particular day, she was carrying a Gucci canvas bag with pink leather trim. "It's raining," she explained. "I don't want to ruin my Louis Vuitton bags."
Kim Joon joined us for dinner in the basement restaurant. Nancy ordered the traditional meal with lots of little dishes and limitless re-fills. I can't remember how many dishes we had, but there was beef, pork, fish, along with several vegetable dishes, glass noodles and pancake. I requested a bibimbap, because RK had forgotten to order it the night before and I just had to try this in Seoul.
Kim Joon doesn't really speak English, so Nancy and RK did most of the translating. His works, I learned, were not photographs at all. I had initially thought that he shot real models and then digitally layered the patterns on top of their skin. It turns out, everything is a digital creation; no photography involved. His works are an exploration of the social, cultural and psychological meanings behind tattoos. As we were finishing up our meal, Kim Joon suggested we head over to his place to see some of his works. Once again, I was surprised by the show of hospitality. On arrival, we were greeted by his beautiful wife and absolutely adorable and precocious 18-month-old daughter. Kim Joon's works are mesmerising, but his daughter is the masterpiece.
It was great seeing how locals live, but even more interesting to see how an artist lives. I always imagine messy studios, but because all of Kim Joon's recent works are done on computers, his "studio" was more like a study. And his house seemed like any other house, complete with garden. It was very comfortable, homey and normal.
Leeum Samsung Museum of Art
The final art stop of the trip was the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. Everyone raves about this musuem. It's got a great collection housed in great buildings. My favourite is Rem Koolhaas' Samsung Child Education & Culture Center. Museum 1 is designed by Mario Botta, while Museum 2 is designed by Jean Nouvel. This is an instance where the architecture doesn't try to steal the spotlight from the artworks (Miho Museum is a case where the architecture overshadows the collection). I loved the fact that the first piece greeting me at the entrance of Museum 2 was an Anish Kapoor -- a burgundy-coloured, concave mirror. The most fun, though, was an installation by Park Kiwon in the Koolhaas building. The piece, entitled Vacuum, is a room with all its walls and ceiling covered with industrial grease with the ground covered in inflatable square cushions. The museum has an audio guide that tells you about each piece as you stand in front of it. It's a well-done guide, well worth the 2,000won.
posted by 10000miles at 19:20
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