Kwon Soon Ik Born in 1959, Seoul, Korea B.F.A. Graduated, Deparment of Painting, College of Fina Arts, SeJong University. [Solo and Invited Exhibitions] 2004 The 5th. Kepco Plaza Gallery, Seoul (Invited Exhibition) 2005 The 7th Museum art of Han Garam in Art Seoul Center (Invited) 2006 The 10th Gallery Jorge Ontiveros, Madrid, Spain (Invited exhibition) 2007 The 11th Gallery Daily Han Kook Ii Bo,Seoul , Korea(Invited exhibition) 2007 Art Figuratif, Art Seoul Center, Hangaram, Seoul. Korea 2008 2008 Art Figuratif, Art Seoul Center, Hangaram, Seoul. Korea 2009 'Read', Gallery Baik Song, Seoul. Korea (Invited exhibition) 2009 2009 Art Figuratif, Art Seoul Center, Hangaram, Seoul. Korea 2010 Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de El Pais, Montevideo, URUGUAY(Invited exhibition) Museo de Arte del Tolima, lbague, COLOMBIA(Invited exhibition) Gallery Baik Song, Seoul. Korea (Invited exhibition) [Collector Group and International Exhibition] 2000 'New Millennium Korea-Russia International Contemporary Art', Gallery St, Petersburg, Russia. 2000 Japan-Korea International Exchange Art Exhibition, Gallery De Rim Art,Seoul. 2000 'Hope for flowers' Young Dung-Po Culture Center, Seoul. 2002 'Flag Festival, Buenos Aires-Seoul' National Museum of Fine Arts .Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2002 '2002 Flag Art Festival' for 2002 FIFA World Cup, World Cup Park, Seoul. 2006 Galeria Cosmoarte - Alicante 2007 Ayuntamento de Siguenza, Madrid. 2008 Encuentro Cultural, Galeria Jorge Ontivero, Madrid 2008 Monthly Cho Sun, Selected by Critic, 55 Contemporary Korean Artists, Art Seoul Center, Hangaram, Seoul. Korea '08 Art Madrid, Madrid, Spain `Share Love... Beautiful company',A&S Gallery, Insa Art Plaza, Seoul. Korea 'Sejong Fine Art Alumnus Exhibition', Gallery La Mer, Seoul. Korea `2008 Beijing Olympic_Intemational Exchange Exhibition' Xian, China Shanghai art fair 2008, China KIAF (Korea International Art Fair) 2008, Seoul, Korea 2009 Shanghai art fair 2008, China Seoul Open Art Fair 2009, COEX, Seoul, Korea ICAA Seoul International Art Fair, The Chosun Ilbo Gallery, Seoul, Korea Compraisons.2009, Grand Palais - Champas Elysees, Paris The 16th Korea International art, Gallery Quaria, Australia, Seoul 2010 Seoul Open Art Fair 2010, COEX, Seoul, Korea Shanghai art fair 2010, China Korea International Art Fair, COEX, Seoul, Korea MUSED DE ARTE CONTEMPORANEO DE EL PAIS, MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY MUSED DE ARTE DEL TOLIMA, IBAGUE, COLOMBIA [Residency Program] 2008 Cosmo Arte Gallery, Spain 2010 Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art [Collections] Sungnam Art Center / Pakyoungsa / Hankukilbo / Lg Chemistry / OCI Company Co., Ltd / Cosmo Arte Gallery, Spain / Singapore Private Collection / Venezuela Private Collection /China Private Collection.
Dialogue with an Artist Q. What do you think a propensity or orientation of your recent work is? I can say that my recent works can be seen as an extension of the work focusing on the coexistence of poem and image exhibited during the Residency at Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art in the early of year 2010. Especially in the process of preparing my work for exhibition invited by Latin America Museum, I was deeply absorbed in an agony concerning a subject matter which can reveal objet d¡¯art of this age as well as make Korean emotions spontaneously felt. In my recent works, simple and plain objects around us often appear as main subject matters. Those things like bag, shoes, lighter, spoon and chopsticks, clothes, etc. are not designed for artistic work, but rather daily collection into which an artist¡¯s life and emotions are permeated. Those things have become elements which can make Korean people¡¯s life felt spontaneity in the perspective of Latin America or foreigners, I suppose. Besides, raised texts appearing in some works of mine made in 2010 represent imaged patterns of Korean alphabets and simultaneously the encounter of meaning of the letters and my life¡¯s objet realizes an exquisite harmony. My intention was not to be satisfied with a mere visual delivery but to deliver Korean culture and emotions through the canvas. That intention of mine is expressed in this process of work. Q. Over the past several years, you traveled to Spain, Africa and Latin America. What does this journey mean to you and how is this experience reflected in your work? For an artist, travel allows for time to observe life and to ask questions of myself and seek answers. In Africa in 2007, I could encounter primeval beauty and peacefulness of extensive Africa as well as luxurious but harmonious colors. I saw desire to express man stemming from family or a small group and symbolism based African art in its expression. I began to reinterpret African sculpture on my own. As an episode, I lost my camera as soon as I arrived in Africa. At first I was at a loss what to do. But I could carve Africa in my mind and heart instead storing in a camera and I could pay attention to leaving afterimages in the lens inside me. When it comes to artistic work, I attach great importance to revealing comprehensive emotions left in memory rather than a recorded instant. That¡¯s why the travel was time to bring the fact home to me again. In winter of the same year soon after traveling to Africa, I participated in the work for Spain Residence for three months by an invitation of a gallery there and entered some of my works at Madrid Art Fair. As I could watch works of the greatest artists and various art works of contemporary European artists at world-noted museums filled with art historical achievements in Spain, I could compare new color senses and expression methods different from those of Korea. At that time, I began to make use of material which is as black as soil and shows metallic property, and I started with art activities through minimum symbolic expressions. Communion with artists from many countries whom I encountered through these travels and time of observation transcending epoch or era added diversity to my own expressions which I had studied for myself, I believe. Those experiences are also driving me to do new attempts continuously. Q. I have heard that you recently made a lot of works expressing yourself by combining poetic concepts like ¡®Meditations of the Lover¡¯ by monk poet Han Yong-Un, etc. What is the reason for combining poem and art work? And what do you think the two have in common? When I was working in Spain from the late 2007 to the early 2008, I attempted to visualize text. After I returned home, I disclosed works in which shapes are given to phrases in book with a theme <ÀдÙ(READ)> at a private exhibition in 2008. I confessed that I found the meaning of art work from an activity of reading a book itself and a book. <ÀдÙ(READ)> series was an attempt that once text was delivered to me through a book, I tried to put shapes emerging in my head and heart onto the canvas. This series of <ÀдÙ(READ)> evolved into work of connecting profound and diversified meanings in a simple phrase of poem with objet of life. Poem and art work are a creative result of intensively integrating a lot of emotions people and their life have; and they have a strong power to deliver delicate sensibility in a metaphorical and profound way. The coexistence of these two can be seen as an important way of satisfying an artist¡¯s ceaseless expression desire toward imagery, I think. Q. What do you think creativity in your work is? And what a person do you think yourself artist Kwon Sun-Ik is? What is the most important is to peep into myself. That is to enter the inside of myself, I think. I believe that to see myself hidden inside me is individuality. Instead of simply looking for originality of subject matter or material, when I express shapes inside me in the process of looking for myself, my work can be made in an original manner. To overcome limitations of material, I think it important how much of myself I can look for. For this purpose, I have been making efforts to peer into the inside of me ceaselessly. I want to be a person wandering on the canvas. I often use a word ¡°stroll¡± as a title of picture, which contains m desire to live in a picture as if I were to take a stroll on the canvas. Instead of building up a certain world, I would like to take something out of the inner side ceaselessly and have many different variations in the process.
