Ahn Kyuchul received his BFA in Sculpture from Seoul National University and worked as a journalist for Art Quarterly from 1980 through 1987. He then moved to Paris in 1987, and to Germany in 1988, graduating from the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart in 1995 after completing both undergraduate and graduate programs. From 1997 to 2020, he taught at the School of Visual Arts, Korea National University of Arts.
Installation view
of “Ahn Kyuchul: Questions—Landscape
without Horizon” ©Space ISU. Photo: Lee EuirockSpace
ISU, a cultural and art venue operated by the ISU Group, presents Ahn Kyuchul’s
solo exhibition “Ahn
Kyuchul: Questions—Landscape without Horizon” through
January 3, 2025. The exhibition showcases new artworks that embody the inquiries
Ahn has engaged with for over forty years.
The
exhibition features new installations, sculptures, paintings, and text pieces
that challenge fixed mindsets and prevailing conventions in society and the art
world. Viewers are invited to explore this “landscape without horizon” and
engage with the questions each work raises.
Installation view of “Ahn Kyuchul: Questions—Landscape without Horizon” ©Space ISU. Photo: Lee EuirockSpiral
Wall draws us in like a black hole, yet its endless rotation prevents
us from reaching its center. Dot Practices showcases the
artist’s intense effort to emulate a minimalist masterpiece with a single dot,
while Line Practices captures his struggle to find various
ways to draw lines without a ruler. On the Way to Art serves
as a signpost for seekers of true art. Twenty-four Provocations
lists subversive acts by artists performed in white cubes, inscribed on a metal
plate. Total eight new works reconstruct the landscape of our time, which has
lost its horizon.
By
posing a series of questions, “Ahn Kyuchul: Questions—Landscape without
Horizons” encourages viewers to reflect from various perspectives not only on
grand societal and artistic discourses but also on smaller, intimate stories of
everyday life.
