A gallery named ‘Art Dorm’ is located in the hallways of Building 900’s B1 and B2, in Seoul National University Gwanak Residence Halls (Gwanak-sa). This gallery was designed to help resident students foster their cultural literacy throughout daily lives. After the first exhibition in 2010, Gwanak-sa has been continually displaying student artworks in collaboration with College of Fine Arts. From last year’s November 23rd (Tue) to December 6th (Mon), Exhibition 〈Enjoy 寓意于物〉 had been held in the gallery. Students △Ye-chan Kim △Choong-sun Kim △Soo-hyun Park △Dan-bi Lee △Da-eun Jung △Seo-won Jung △Soo-min Ha and more students from SNU master’s course in Oriental Paintings came together to put 14 pieces of oriental paintings on display.
Time to Relieve the Burden of Enjoying Art
The exhibition title ‘寓意于物’ is borrowed from the poet Su Shi (蘇東坡) of Song dynasty in Chinese history. The word means ‘To enjoy beautiful objects and entrust them with one’s will and taste.’ Exhibition 〈Enjoy 寓意于物〉 is designed to help both artists and viewers enjoy art without feeling any burden, freeing them from the idea that contemporary art is difficult and complex.
The two paintings above both portrayed the sea on Jang-ji (Korean paper). Soo-hyun Park’s 〈Oeongchi〉(Left) and Da-eun Jung’s 〈Sea Wave〉(Right)
From the exhibition, viewers can appreciate the charms of oriental paintings that possess distinct characteristics but are also in harmony with one another. Both students Soo-hyun Park and Da-eun Jung portrayed the sea on Jang-ji (Korean paper), but by using different materials and modes of expression, they provoked diverse aesthetic experiences to the eyes of viewers. Student Soo-hyun Park painted the sea seen from Oeongchi Port in Sokcho with mono-printing and coloring on Jang-ji. Park made the paint seep into the Korean paper in order to describe the waves of the sea gently reflecting the sunlight. Despite the smallness of the size (A4), viewers standing in front of the painting can feel the impression of standing in the seashore of Sokcho. Meanwhile, the waves of the sea drawn with colored pencils in student Da-eun Jung’s 〈Sea Wave〉 are in soft curves but clearly divide the boundaries of the colors. This painting, which expresses wave fragments that blend in with different colors of lights, leads viewers to recall their own memories of the sea by not pinpointing a specific place. Like this, students residing in Gwanak-sa can have fun at Exhibition 〈Enjoy 寓意于物〉 while focusing on the similarities and differences of the artworks, furthermore taking a step closer to the world of oriental paintings.
Student Ye-chan Kim (Master’s course in Oriental Paintings), who participated in the exhibition as one of the artists, commented “it will be more amusing when you focus on how each artist with their modern taste and uniqueness draw on a very traditional material, the Korean paper,” mentioning the points to pay attention to. Moreover, he added, “I hope that the resident students will enjoy the exhibition comfortably and feel what naturally comes to mind as it is.” A student residing in Gwanak-sa, Ji-hye Kang (Department of Food Nutrition·20), said, “It was impressive each artist had a different style, such as color, composition, and theme, even though they all drew oriental paintings” after seeing the exhibition.
Art Dorm, a Communication Space of Artists and Viewers
Art Dorm is becoming an art space where it does not only display artworks to resident students unilaterally, but also provides the opportunity for artists and viewers to communicate. Especially, at the entrance of the exhibition hall is a guest book, so viewers can leave notes of their feelings and thoughts about the exhibition for artists to check. Student Ye-chan Kim, who participated in this exhibition as the second time following the last semester, talked about how meaningful Art Dorm exhibitions are to artists, saying, “The students’ interpretations as to the meaning or intention of paintings introduce to me new perspectives on my works.” Art Dorm offered the chance for artists to be inspired after the spread of COVID-19 when there are fewer opportunities to communicate with viewers.
On the other hand, student Ji-hye Kang remarked after visiting the gallery, “It was nice to directly participate in the exhibition by commenting my thoughts in the guest book, but I felt the lack of information about the purpose of the exhibition as a whole, the artists, and their paintings, aside from the links to artists’ SNS profiles.” Before the spread of the COVID-19, opening ceremonies were held prior to each exhibition, through which artists and viewers could meet face-to-face to exchange thoughts on exhibitions, works, and artists. Gwanak-sa assistant Ji-young Kim said, “If the COVID-19 situation improves, we will be able to hold the opening ceremony again next semester,” and, “I hope the students pay a lot of attention and participate.”
In addition to exhibitions in collaboration with Department of Oriental Paintings of College of Fine Arts, Art Dorm will hold exhibitions on various topics at the request of members of the school. Keep in mind that Art Dorm is not far away from us, whenever you are in need for rest or inspiration during repetitive everyday lives. The Art Dorm gallery will present you with enjoyable art experience where you can “寓意于物”.
Source: https://www.snu.ac.kr/snunow/snu_story?md=v&bbsidx=134695