“Color, Shape and Active Audience” Poster image. ©Gyeongnam Art Museum
Gyeongnam
Art Museum a special exhibition “Color, Shape and Active Audience” for celebrating its 20th anniversary,
through October 6. This exhibition is based on the works of Jeon Hyeok Lim, Seundja
Rhee, and Joon Lee, masters of abstract painting who represent Gyeongnam.
"Color, Shape and Active Audience" focuses on "abstract
art" that emphasizes the human spirit with an attitude of innovation,
breaking away from the conventions of figuration that faithfully reproduces the
appearance of objects. This creates an opportunity for visitors to think about
abstraction not only in art but also in their daily lives.
In an art
museum, a "viewer" is not only a person who appreciates the
exhibition, but also a person who creates the exhibition together with the
viewer. This exhibition aims to move away from the traditional way of museums
that unilaterally show valuable works to the 'viewer', and to actively engage
the 'viewer' in producing the concept and meaning of the exhibition.
The works
by Jeon Hyeok
Lim (1915-2010), Seundja
Rhee (1918-2009), and Joon
Lee (1919-2021) in the
exhibition are lyrical abstractions with nature motifs that are characteristic
of Korean abstract art. The artists, who spent their childhoods in Tongyeong,
Jinju, and Namhae, do not deny the appearance of 'natural' forms, such as the
sky, sea, earth, or the sun and moon, but use the mental process of extracting
essential elements from them as the basic principle of their work.
Visitors
can view works by Jeon
Hyeok Lim, Seundja Rhee, and Joon Lee alongside oral histories, and explore the meaning of abstraction as
they walk through the exhibition space with paintings, installations, and
sculptures by currently active artists Jeon Hyunsun, Oh Youkyeong, and Cho Jaiyoung.
The
exhibition space is organized so that the audience can actively participate. In
the three spaces categorized as 'appreciation,' 'discussion,' and 'practice,'
visitors can explore abstract elements such as 'borrowing,' 'superimposition,'
'division,' 'convergence,' 'connection,' and 'subtraction,' and participate by
'viewing,' 'reading,' 'listening,' 'speaking,' 'writing,' and 'drawing.
