Installation view of 《SYMBIOTIC PLANET》 © Seoul Art Space Geumcheon

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, headed by CEO Song Hyungjong, presents 《SYMBIOTIC PLANET》, a special open-studio exhibition of the 16th-term resident artists at Seoul Art Space Geumcheon. The exhibition features 14 resident artists of Seoul Art Space Geumcheon and is held from today through Saturday the 27th in the PS333 exhibition room of Seoul Art Space Geumcheon.

Seoul Art Space Geumcheon is a professional residency space that provides creative studios for visual artists, established in 2009 by remodeling a former printing factory. Through its annual open-studio special exhibitions, it has identified noteworthy issues in contemporary art and presented the creative achievements of resident artists to the public.

Inspired by biologist Lynn Margulis’s book Symbiotic Planet(2014), this special exhibition takes as its theme a symbiotic attitude created by the coexistence of humans, nature, and invisible organisms. It explores the performative attitudes of artists and the meaning of coexistence revealed in the creative process, presenting around 30 works including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and drawing, as well as representative works and new works.

Major participating artists include Kim Siha, who expresses symbolic ecosystems in disaster situations through sculpture; Kim Woongyong, who presents a new work connecting the relationship between toads and snakes to modern and contemporary Korean history; and Kim Juri, who offers a new perspective on the meaning of circulating natural matter such as soil and apartments.

In addition, representative works by participating artists that have had few opportunities to be shown publicly can all be seen together in this exhibition.

Curator Choi Heeseung, who organized the exhibition, stated the curatorial intention: “Artists value their personal lives and creative processes, while also helping one another and exchanging intangible forces.” She added, “This exhibition will allow viewers to discover the perspective of symbiotic beings living together through the attitudes of artists.”

This exhibition gains further synergy by connecting with Seoul Art Week, which includes international art events such as Kiaf and Frieze Seoul. During the week-long 2025 Seoul Art Week, which began on the 1st and continues through the 7th, 107 museums and galleries across Seoul participate, presenting exhibitions of more than 100 works and a variety of cultural and artistic programs.

First, Seoul Art Space Geumcheon offers Kiaf and Frieze Seoul VIP visitors(preview ticket holders) the opportunity to view the open-studio special exhibition 《SYMBIOTIC PLANET》 and visit the studios of resident artists. Through this, visitors will be able to directly observe the creative processes of the artists participating in the exhibition and have opportunities for exchange.

Meanwhile, Sindang Creative Arcade, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture’s creative space specializing in craft and design, also held a space tour program connected to Seoul Art Week.

On the 2nd, the program included a viewing of 《Interwooven Footsteps》 by participating artists Kim Dongwook and Shin Jeyoung in the current project exhibition(SPE) at Sindang Creative Arcade, as well as meetings with resident artists, receiving a positive response.

References