From May 14 to June 30, the Seoul National University Library is hosting an exhibition titled Cracks in Glass in collaboration with the SNU College of Fine Arts. The exhibition shows off the works of SNU alums and artists Kim Yechan and Choi Hyungjun. Inspired by their visit to the Rodin Museum in Paris, they seek to explore the theme of reconstructing space with reproduced matter through various media.
Garden (Rodin Museum of Paris) by Kim Yechan
The exhibition centers around the supposed gap that exists between representation and reality. In order to achieve this, Kim Yechan chose to create landscape drawings with a focus on colors. This is especially notable in Garden (Rodin Museum of Paris), spanning a width of three meters and serving as the backdrop against which the other works are presented. Kim’s choice of blue not only adds a splash of color to the primarily monochromatic pieces, but also sets the overall mood for the exhibition. He covers the forefront of the canvas in a dark cobalt blue that creates an illusion of flatness, detailing only the shadows and contours of the landscape and figures depicted. In contrast to this, the skyline is painted with beautifully soft pastels, showing off the serenity of the sky as twilight descends upon Paris. The juxtaposition of these two elements thus creates a sense of irony: the title suggests the main focus of the piece to be the garden, yet the artist chooses to highlight the background instead.
Figure by Kim Yechan
Kim’s water-based prints are also on display. Both titled Figure, the prints feature abstractions of the human face, mimicking the outlines of facial elements in a manner that seems to be pushing the boundaries of what can be considered human. Kim aims to capture the memory left behind by an object rather than its physical presence. He stays true to the theory of Chi-Yun-Sheng-Tung, an oriental painting technique that urges the artist to follow the flow of the brush. As such, Kim reconceptualizes the human subject as colors and negative space.
The Walking Man by Choi Hyungjun
Choi Hyungjun approaches the concept of reconstruction by using 3D printing. Famous sculptures such as Rodin’s The Thinker and The Walking Man are recreated not as exact replicas but instead as reinterpretations, placing significance on texture and lines. His usag of 3D printing, a contemporary medium emphasizing structure, helps achieve his goal of bringing subjects of art into a virtual reality. A harmony between the traditional and the contemporary is achieved—the representation of lines is akin to that found in oriental art, all the while portraying this through a modern medium.
The Discobolus 臨摸 by Choi Hyungjun
These reinterpretations are taken a step further in Choi’s productions of other works such as Alexandros of Antioch’s Venus de Milo and the ancient Roman statue Bust of Athena Pallas Giustiniani. Whereas the works mentioned earlier still retain three dimensional form, Choi seeks to understand these art pieces through shapes. He 3D printed his impressions of the originals by taking inspiration from the oriental calligraphy technique of immo, which refers to a form of emulative study. The result is several black, wiry figures that seem flexible and moldable, though upon closer inspection, their hard plastic material suggests otherwise. Round loops are used in tandem with stark lines, creating compositionally interesting pieces that challenge the boundaries of the chosen medium.
Poster for Cracks in Glass
Cracks in Glass is about sensation and flow, inviting the viewer into a world beyond fixed meanings and objects. By toeing the line between flatness and depth, sensation and technique, image and object, the artists urge the viewer to consider how objects exist in transitional states shaped by the viewer’s perspective. The exhibition will run until the end of this month in the Kwanjeong Gallery, situated on the first floor of the SNU Library Kwanjeong Building. We encourage you to come and appreciate these young artists’ talents and efforts.
Written by Lee Eusun, SNU English Editor, sunnylee006@snu.ac.kr