Solo Exhibitions (Brief)

The artist held his first solo exhibition 《White Cube》 at Cal Arts (Los Angeles, USA) in 2000, and presented a work in which thin and light strings laid down from the ceiling to the floor.

After that, he produced three-dimensional installation works in which images of body parts or objects were printed in earnest using strings.

In 2007, he held a solo exhibition 《Young_eun Artist Relay》 by participating in the ‘2006-2008 Youngeun Artist Project’, a creative studio resident support program conducted by Youngeun Museum of Art (Gwangju, Korea). In this exhibition, works that express hands were mainly selected and exhibited.

The subject ‘hand’ appears frequently in Hong Sungchul’s works, but the first work that expresses the hands and the object was presented in 2011. In 2012, 《Solid but Fluid》 was held at HADA Contemporary (London, UK) focusing on the new works produced during this time.

In 2018, 《Solid but Fluid》 was held at UARTSPACE (Seoul, Korea), and it was the first solo exhibition held in Korea in 7 years. In this exhibition, works expressing the meaning of communication through the theme of ‘hands’ and recently produced new works were presented.

Group Exhibitions (Brief)

The artist was mainly active in Korea until 2000, but after his first solo exhibition in 2000, his name became known abroad was invited to special exhibitions in numerous domestic and foreign art galleries and galleries.

Hong Sungchul’s work is receiving a lot of attention and attention in Korea, but he is more popular abroad, so he participated in many group exhibitions held abroad than in Korea.

The artist participated in 《Korean Eye 2012》 held in 2012 at Saatchi Gallery (London, UK). About 100 works by 34 artists were exhibited, and it was the largest exhibition of Korean art held in London. Insightful works that give a glimpse into the future of Korean contemporary art were selected, and Hong Sungchul who had been well-received overseas was also selected.

In addition, 《Look&See》 (2007, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea), 《Remind》 (2010, Youngeun Museum of Art, Gwangju, Korea), 《Korean Collective Basel 2011》 (2011, hall33, Basel, Switzerland), 《Re-presenting Representation VIII》 (2014, ARNOT ART MUSEUM, New York, USA), 《Portrait Gallery》 (2015, Kallenbach gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands), 《Beyond The Frame》 (2019, Taksu gallery, Singapore), the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul, Gwacheon/Korea), Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea), and Waterfall Mansion gallery (New York, USA) etc, participated in several group exhibitions held at home and abroad.

Collections (Selected)

BOGHOSSIAN Foundation (Brussels, Belgium), National Museum of Contemporary Art (Seoul, Korea), Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea), Kumho Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea), Byuksan Cultural Foundation (Seoul, Korea), Kolon Group (Gwacheon, Korea) ), BGF Retail (Seoul, Korea), CJ E&M (Seoul, Korea), SK Telecom (Seoul, Korea) and other domestic and foreign collections have been.

Originality & Identity

Hong Sungchul has presented sculptures, installations, performances, and interactive media artworks in various media incorporating modern technology.

The subject that the artist has explored for a long time while diversifying media is existential anxiety and tension arising from the imperfection of existing. Further, despite this anxiety, he recognizes the true ‘ego’ and expresses his ceaseless efforts to communicate.

The ‘String’ series is the most well-known of his works. This series is a three-dimensional installation artwork that builds a modelling form and structure with ‘strings,’ a thin and flexible material with a sense of volume. It is divided into four series: ‘Strings,’ ‘String Hands,’ ‘String Mirror,’ and ‘String Column’.

Also, it unfolds with the optical illusion spreading the image layers overlapped repeatedly. The artist transits into media art or interactive artworks adding joyful appreciation methods or projecting videos on the art objects.

Interactivity is often incorporated into art by using advanced technology and media. However, it can be seen as the achievement of Hong Sungchul that he created a new concept of ordering and formatting with his own methods and non-traditional materials of sculpture.

It is also a unique point that the work’s themes of existential inquiry and social interaction are closely connected to acquiring persuasiveness.

Style & Contents

Hong Sungchul shows a visual illusion that deepens optical art and kinetic art concepts by developing the ‘String’ series. He usually captures the body or parts of the body, such as hands, eyes, and face. Then, he prints them on thin elastic lines.

He repeatedly arranges these lines to create a screen on which the entire image is reproduced and then installs this screen again in a solid form. As if a computer screen pixel composes an image, it is divided into plural sections and integrated into one. Similarly, the image is transformed into a three-dimensional digital image with analogue materials like ‘string’.

The image is changed by the audience’s viewpoints or the sound setting and is temporarily destroyed by the climate flow of the exhibition space or the audience’s touch. However, it returns to its original image.

The ‘hand’ image, which often appears in the artist’s work, symbolizes the fundamentals of the individual, the contact point between the ego and its external relationship, and the communication of modern society. Also, it can be read as an intimacy, mutual understanding, and willpower or desire to find out the meaning of life, what the artist describes as an intricately intertwined hand, the hands holding marble or threads, or the hands holding or tearing crumpled paper.

“The meaning of the substance of myself cannot be closed as a whole. It is constantly delayed, so the ultimate substance and meaning cannot be revealed.”

The work of Hong Sungchul presents the shape of individuals and groups about the human isolation of contemporary digital culture and existential incompleteness in a visual way. Also, the artist includes the symbolized body by social meanings, usage of the objects, and visual amusement in the artworks. Moreover, it lets him perceive the message he wants to deliver, interacting with works and engaging actively with the audience’s physical body.

Topography & Continuity

The work of Hong Sungchul composes a comprehensive network of meanings by organically combining form and content. Additionally, the screen on which this semantic network pursues an interactive graphical play. He allows the audience to feel a digital sense without using general digital media, often evaluated as an interactive work between digital and analog.

In the media art produced in the early 2000s, the artist produced media art such as ‘String Tongue’ and ‘Perceptual Mirror’. Moreover, the ‘blinker’ series shows a flickering solar-powered LCD unit arranged in a grid to form a geometric abstraction as a part of the ‘String’ series. This is how he illustrates his speculative art and essence in the series of works.

The artist Hong Sungchul reveals media in an enlarged way by developing their own art world and mentality. In his early works, he mainly accomplished art activities in the domestic art industry and then expanded his art activities into America, France, and England after graduating from California Art College.

Since his debut, Hong Sungchul has exhibited through various channels such as art galleries and art fairs in Korea, and he has enhanced his career overseas by introducing his works at Pontone Gallery in London for many years.

His works received great reviews from critics, praising him for going beyond the limits of existing works. Also, he deals with simple and daily images like ‘body’ by inducing tension and fluent message and impressions, which gives beautiful shapes through multi-faceted efforts.