Re-bound-ary  Pratt Studios Gallery  NY 2010 

March 29 2010 - April 2 2010

  200 Willoughby ave. Brooklyn

Candidate for the Master of Fine Arts Degree

Department of Fine Arts

  I have been involved with architectural images and a wide range of materials.

 In my art, building and clothing images repeat.

Mourning Coffee   coffee, sugar, foam cups    2009

   I have a lot of feelings and thoughts about buildings.

 My father is an architect and civil engineer, so my childhood environment was opened to building

sites of dams, roads and bridges. They looked ugly at first, but they became more interesting

and beautiful to me during the later stages of construction. Another inspiration about buildings

 originates from the accident that I experienced. When I was 13 years old, I observed a department

store building collapsing across from my house in Seoul, Korea. It was a disastrous accident that

caused 502 fatalities and more than 1000 injured people including many of my neighbors. It turned

out that this accident occurred due to the flimsy construction of a greedy construction company.

Castle of grandma    hemp, Korean traditional ironing tool   20x26”  2010

 Korean Tranditional Ironing (pounding) Tool, "Da-deu-mee"

My notion of society and thoughts about the world increased with my anger towards the collapsing

of the luxury building. My impression was pink concrete debris mixed up with the clothes of the

people inside. This traumatic image constantly stimulates me when I create something.

I illuminate the darker side of urban capitalism using architectural images related to this experience.  

Compassion   rod, T-sharts   2010

   I like to contrast two opposite feelings about architecture: fear and gratification.  

When I see a skyscraper, I have both feelings at the same time. This probably is natural

because a modern building is a metaphor of economic growth as well as its shadow.

Though a skyscraper is regarded as a result of economic success,

the success always involves a darker facet.

  21 Ceramic cast cup , 1 Foam cup  Dimensions variable  2010

   Three bricks    felt, silk,ceramic casting bricks    57x39”  2009

    Based on this feeling, building images always pose to me an existential question;

where are we from and where will we go.

In history, humans have constructed many buildings

for practical or religious reasons. These numerous buildings sometimes disappeared or

even have been rebuilt. Even though skyscrapers stand securely and gloriously,

it is hard to say that they will exist forever. I feel that all building are in a state of construction or

decay and imply the insecure existence of human beings. That is why I like to think of buildings

as being insecurely in the present, between the past and the future.

Re-bound-ary    silkscreen print on Mylar    36x240” inch   2010

Built-ing   digital print   24x30.5” 2009

Concrete statue of Aphrodite_digital-print_24x30.5” 2009

Concrete statue of a woman_24x30.5” 2009

concrete statue of Eirene_24x30.5” 2009

Concrete statue of an old fisherman_24x30.5” 2009 

too sweet to purify (@pratt studio)    sugar, bleach, plastic spoon, wood stool, table cloth   2010

"Beautiful

Beautiful

Beautiful

Strong

Magical "

-Cyrilla Mozenter

(artist, professor)

"Delicate, Poetic, Sensitive, Flowing, Subtle, Calm, Strong, Intriguing, Moving,

Feeling of walking through your dream...."

-from a guest book