Installation view of 《oblique strategies》 © Kukje Gallery

Kukje Gallery, which has long paid attention to the flow and changes of the contemporary art scene in Korea, will present the exhibition 《oblique strategies》 from August 31 to October 24, featuring works by ten Korean artists.
 
《oblique strategies》 is the title of a work composed of dozens of cards created in 1975 by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. Each card contains a different strategy devised to overcome moments of creative panic when ideas fail to emerge during the artistic process. According to Brian Eno, the cards were created to remind one that when trapped in panic (in the studio), a problem does not always have to be confronted head-on; there are alternative ways to approach the work and more interesting detours to explore.

At the same time, the cards function as a device that encourages a more flexible and wise mode of thinking—reminding us that when facing any problem, we need not always choose direct confrontation but may also adopt other attitudes or approaches. Furthermore, such oblique thinking or attitude can also be understood as reflecting the diverse positions from which contemporary artists view the world, their distinctive perspectives in recognizing and critiquing reality, their refined strategies that prompt us to reflect upon ourselves, and their unique ways of communicating with the world.
 
The exhibition 《oblique strategies》 brings together a collection of unusual detours explored by ten artists in order to produce relationships with the world. Eno and Schmidt’s concept of “oblique strategies” functions here as a kind of leitmotif that broadly encompasses the practices of the ten participating artists.

Rather than posing result-oriented questions or criticisms about particular actions within an uncertain world, the exhibition focuses on works that engage with ways of recognizing reality and living in the present. Instead of attempting to directly attack the entirety that lies beyond reach, the artists acknowledge its limits and begin their inquiries precisely from those limitations. Although each artist has different concerns and operates within a distinct domain, what they ultimately propose is a form of critical thinking capable of transforming existing methods, rules, conventions, and the large systems that govern us.

Unlike earlier generations, however, their critical stance is neither overtly direct nor revolutionary, nor does it impose any unilateral message. While they continue to resist the logic of progress and utopian ideals that still dominate us, their approach operates not at the level of the whole but through partial dimensions or minute units. In these small but precise interventions, they attempt subtle yet sharp revisions, generate powerful impacts on a small scale, and propose different forms of micro-utopia through diverse strategies.

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