Installation view of 《Gazing Between Layers》 (Gallery BHAK, 2022) ©Gallery BHAK

The sky, which should be far away, appears right before one’s eyes. A sky that gradually brightens in accordance with the size of the canvas, a clear and refreshing sky painted on stacked paper, and skies fragmented and dispersed across multiple planes—these are all new works by Seong Joon Hong presented in 《Gazing Between Layers》. The works in this exhibition meticulously reveal both the formal origins of painting through Hong’s long-standing exploration of natural landscapes rendered in layered forms, and his recent interest in temporality perceived between accumulated masses of layers and overlapping strata.

Seong Joon Hong’s 'Layers' series, which simultaneously evokes an experience of real landscapes while making the viewer aware that they are illusory images, relies on strong illusionistic techniques to summon both flatness and spatial depth. This is evident in the photographically precise depiction of landscape motifs, as well as the three-dimensionality produced by curled paper edges and the shadows they cast.

Although such illusionistic execution may resemble traditional artistic modes such as seventeenth-century ceiling paintings or trompe-l’œil, its underlying nature differs fundamentally. Whereas painters of the past created illusion through chiaroscuro, perspective, and foreshortening using only brush and paint, Seong Joon Hong approaches not only representation but also the method of production itself through the concept of layering, thereby articulating visual and tactile illusions on the surface.

Installation view of 《Gazing Between Layers》 (Gallery BHAK, 2022) ©Gallery BHAK

Accordingly, beyond the layers that are visually perceptible, additional layers—both within and beyond the painting—are subtly rendered in Seong Joon Hong’s works. These include pigments sprayed onto the surface with an airbrush without friction against the canvas; combinations of hanji and fabric layered onto the canvas; traces of paint that seep beyond the canvas and solidify; and neon light reflected onto the wall from fluorescent pigment applied to the back of the canvas. The surfaces of these accumulated layers, constructed through diverse materials and tools, compose a sense of time akin to sedimentary strata.

This aspect is clearly manifested in the black-and-white works Study Layers 40, Study Layers 41, and Study Layers 42, which evoke a sense of recollection; in the installation work Condensed Layer (Wave_1), which displays the energy of compressed layers through stacked gradated hanji; and in Layers of the Air 6-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, where increasing scale and brightness articulate temporal distance and degree.

Thus, in 《Gazing Between Layers》, the visible and invisible layers that constitute the works can be understood as metaphors for both the materiality and futility of painting, as well as layers of time. Here, the form of time flowing between layers—though unseen—conveys energies of varying scales that permeate and expand inside and outside the works. Ultimately, these layers transport the diverse phenomena that surround us and invite those of us living within the same temporal strata into a space of artistic communication.

 
Text by Sohui Lim (Curator, BHAK)

References