Geometric artist Hong Seung-hye’s work “When Flowering” is seen in this photo provided by Kukju Gallery.
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Contemporary artist Hong Seung-hye is known for geometric works based on the form of computer pixels, but she has long dreamed of breaking from the rectangular grid and expanding the boundary of her art world.
Since her debut in 1997, Hong has drawn attention for radically simplistic artworks based on pixels, the smallest unit of a digital image on a computer monitor, adopting Adobe Photoshop as her main tool.
Looking back on her past career, the 64-year-old felt it was time to “liberate” herself from the old style and try something new and learned Adobe Illustrator.
She explored several different tools and methods in the program and now is ready to show off her latest artworks in her latest solo exhibition, “Over the Layers II,” which opened at Kukje Gallery in downtown Seoul on Thursday.
“I wanted to talk about the happiness of liberation. It’s been 25 years since I have been locked in the world of Photoshop’s grid. I comfortably lived in the closet, but I felt the desire to tell something else as time went by,” Hong said during a press conference.
Hong, who studied fine arts at Seoul National University, said she reflected on her past works to breathe new life into geometric abstraction in various forms.
The sequel to the 2004 exhibition “Over the Layers” presents a mix of 2-D and 3-D artworks in imaginative forms, including wall paintings, sculptures, tables and vases, combined with sounds and light works.
Geometric artist Hong Seung-hye’s work “Flower Vase” is seen in this photo provided by Kukju Gallery.
With the title inspired by the popular song “Over the Rainbow,” the exhibition showcases artworks in colors of the rainbow and 3-D displays of men and women bathroom signs.
Thinking of herself as imperfect, Hong has no fear of learning new things and is comfortable showing what she called “the result of trials and errors” with the new tool.
“I wanted to talk about the fearless amateurism with my exhibition,” said the professor in the Department of Fine Arts at Seoul National University of Science & Technology.
Hong believes unexpected moments of life can be the most beautiful and decided to create whatever comes into her mind. Now, she’s happy with the result.
“I didn’t intend to create something. I wanted to express the process of my learning and present the outcome,” she said. “Unpredictability is what drives me to keep working. After all, something inside of me came out in these forms of artworks.”
(Yonhap)
