Today’s appointment was with Eui Jeong Yoo; a visit to his solo show that ends today, hence the haste to make sure we didn’t miss it. Won has been impressively efficient and thorough organizing a schedule that includes meeting up with each Seoul-based Korean artist, either at their studio or exhibition. We met after she had taken her own show down and set off for Gallery Purple, just outside of Seoul in a town called Namyangju. It was refreshing to be surrounded by fields of corn and mountains, but even here, where you would not expect to find sophistication, there were several very trendy cafes and the Gallery Purple complex. What a place! I discovered that it is a philanthropic enterprise, owned by a couple who are collectors. They have established a model whereby they invite artists to do residencies in a fantastic purpose-built space, with spacious studios and a very well appointed gallery, and in exchange they receive artwork for their collection. This kind of thing does not happen in the UK! But it should! It is a well-trodden path in the US, but then there is not much public funding there.
Anyway, it was a treat. Eui Jeong Yoo caught my attention because his work fits the Made in Korea theme very well. My idea behind the theme is that is questions identity and provenance and values of the mass-made versus the hand-made. Made in Korea is something one sees stamped on the bottom on mass-produced goods a lot, whereas the standard of craft, and in particular, ceramics, from Korea is exceptionally high (in my opinion). Therefore to give a ceramic show of high quality the name Made in Korea is a little ambiguous. In addition, all the artwork is made by Koreans, but not all of them reside in Korea. Anyway. I digress! The reason I was drawn to Eui Jeong’s work is because he refers to the traditions of Korean ceramics by re-creating classic forms, such as moon jars and vases, and he sometimes mixes the traditional designs, such as cranes and clouds, with contemporary highly commercial brands. So he is questioning various things – what is fine art in relation to craft and how famous brands acquire new significance through mass populism.
His solo show was stunning. The first thing we encountered were three man-sized vessels. Wow. The first thing that came into my head was, he must have had access to a BIG kiln! It turns out he made them at ClayArch Gimhae, the Ceramic Collection and Residency Centre who have made me a special invitation to visit. It is a centre for architectural ceramics, hence why I am interested as that is my specialism!
Afterwards Eui Jeong invited us into his studio and we chatted about his work and the practicalities of the exhibition in the UK. He then gave us a lift back towards the city, while light mist descended over the mountains surrounding us.
We stopped off for another spectacular Korean speciality for dinner in Hongdae again (even buzzier as it was Saturday). We had a spicy chicken soup with red peppers. Yum!
