The
group exhibition 《EDITION: Who
Sets the NUMBER?》 marks the inaugural show at Space
So’s new location in Buam-dong (5F, 242 Jahamun-ro, Jongno-gu), following its
relocation from Seogyo-dong. Since its first exhibition in September 2017, a
solo show by Byung Ho Lee, Space So has curated diverse exhibitions featuring
emerging and established Korean artists across a wide range of genres and
media.
Continuing in this spirit, the space aims to present multifaceted
landscapes in Korean contemporary art by working with both promising young
talents and mid-career artists of merit.
This
exhibition, which signals the beginning of Space So’s new chapter, will be held
for about a month from September 21 to October 19.
The
exhibition explores the concept of “edition”—a term that refers to both the
work itself in mediums such as print, photography, sculpture, and video, as
well as the number of multiples produced. Presenting approximately 40 editioned
works by eight artists who are actively exhibiting in Korea and
abroad—Bohnchang Koo, Sanghwan Byun, Geun-Taek Yoo, Heejoon Lee, siren eun
young jung, Sungyeon Cho, Sooang Choi, and Mirim Chu—the show examines how
artists interpret the concept and number of editions within their own practice.
It
brings together artists working in traditionally editioned media such as
photography, print, sculpture, and video, and those who typically work in
unique media like painting, installation, and sculpture. Some works do not yet
have a determined edition size, posing the central question of the exhibition:
“Who sets the NUMBER?”—a question left to be answered by the collectors.
Depending on the decisions made during the exhibition period, the edition size
may be modified and finalized upon the exhibition’s conclusion.
Your
choice determines the final “number”! A work may remain a unique piece or
become part of an edition.
Bohnchang
Koo (b.1953) presents six works from his series Mask (2002),
originally started in 1998 and followed by a range of projects exploring Korean
cultural heritage, such as white porcelain, blue-and-white porcelain, paper
flowers, soft stone, and the Gwanghwamun architectural remnants. Among them,
the Gangneung Gwanno Polaroid series is labeled AP (Artist
Proof), not limited by edition number, and maintains its uniqueness through
analog darkroom printing.
Sanghwan
Byun (b.1986), who collects trivial urban landscapes like an archaeologist
unearthing relics, presents three works from his ongoing Naksan Stone
series (since 2015). 25-6, Jibong-ro 7-gil is shown for the
first time at this exhibition and serves as a literal example of “Who Sets the
NUMBER?”—the edition number and destiny of this work will be determined by the
collector’s choice.
Geun-Taek
Yoo (b.1965) presents woodblock prints and the carved wood plates used in their
production. The prints, which carry edition numbers, are displayed alongside
the woodblocks—recontextualized as sculptural objects. These sculptural
remnants can be appreciated either in relation to the prints or as standalone
pieces.
Heejoon
Lee (b.1988) is known for paintings characterized by thickly layered paint and
photo-collage on canvas. For this exhibition, he presents a new sculptural
edition Mining The Chambers of Time, which deconstructs and
reconstructs his earlier painting The Chambers of Time. This
fresh approach sees a painter reimagining his own work not through printmaking,
but sculpture.
siren
eun young jung (b.1974) has been conducting the long-term research project ‘Yeoseong
Gukgeuk Project’ (2008–), which traces gender expressions and the practices of
female-to-male actors in Korea’s traditional all-women’s theater, Yeoseong
Gukgeuk. This exhibition features her early work Time of Makeup
(2009) as well as a new video work Dust (2023), shown for
the first time in Korea.
Sungyeon
Cho (b.1971) turns editioned photographic works into unique pieces. Her
practice involves directing and staging photographs, later incorporating the
physical props used during shoots into the exhibition, or expanding
photographic frames into sculptural forms. For this show, she adds embroidered
drawing directly onto her photographs, transforming them into one-of-a-kind
works.
Participating
Artists
Bohnchang Koo, Sanghwan Byun, Geun-Taek Yoo, Heejoon Lee, siren eun
young jung, Sungyeon Cho, Sooang Choi, Mirim Chu
