Donghee Koo, Dongwook Lee, Hyunjhin Baik    Sep 17 - Nov 9, 2008

On Exhibition

Arario Gallery Beijing is pleased to present the group exhibition of 3 Korean artists in China. Arario Gallery Beijing is planning to focus on young Asian artists in the end of this year. This exhibition will be prelude in the connection with next exhibition, which is young Chinese artists group show will be held right after this exhibition. The participated artists for this exhibition are Donghee Koo, Dongwook Lee and Hyunjhin Baik and they were born in 1970’ are emerging artists with degree from Hong-ik university. The show will feature Donghee Koo’s new video piece, 3 of photographs and one installation, Dongwook Lee’s 8 pieces new sculptures are widely known as a tiny sculpture and Hyunjhin Baik’s new paintings. The exhibition will be on view from September 27 through November 9 and a reception for the artists will be held at the gallery on September 27 from 5 pm.

The Artists

Donghee Koo (1974) is widely known as a video artist. However, she does not fall into this typical characterization of video art. Although she uses the innovative technological medium of single channel video, she does not emphasize the characteristics of the video as a medium. Her focus is more on the narrative or plot, in other words, the inner cause and effect relationship. The single channel in video art actually has film-like qualities. In this context, play and chance hold prominent positions in the work of Koo. Her interests in trifles happen in daily life get joined on her video work and photograph. And it is this aspect of Koo’s work, where her own personal, everyday experiences reach common ground with the experience of others, that lends them such a fascinating quality. Such concrete but intensely personal experience call forth things that we have gone through ourselves. It is in this way that Koo’s work allows for our private experiences to communicate with those of others. She has the degrees from Hong-ik university and Yale university and was selected as the artist for residence program of Tokyo Wonder Site in Japan and Akademia Schloss Solitude in Germany. She were previously shown at the Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center in Turkey, Peres Project in Germany, the 5th and 7th Gwangju Biennale in 2008.

Dongwook Lee (1976) is interested in living organism and symbolically relates to humans, the epitome of living organisms. His little characters are always nude and are placed in utterly helpless situations or are situated extremely uncomfortable-looking positions. But the most noticeable characteristic of his subjects would have to be their size that could as easily fit inside the palm of a hand. By presenting a world in which humans which have been separated from the outside exist. Lee is giving the viewer an experience of a world which he has created by his own imagination.
He has had 3 solo exhibitions in Korea and was previously shown with a group show at National Museum of Contemporary Art in Koea, Civica Gallery in Italy and Union Gallery in UK.

Hyunjhin Baik (1972)’s paintings, on a glance, are very informal abstract expressionistic. The complex works of multiple elements are much like the artist himself. Baik, who was graduated from Hong-ik university then a lead vocal singer of an underground band is a true multi talented artist who knows no restriction to his own varied creativity. In his varied research Baik successfully animates some traditions of high fine artistic culture, still taking the time to build up sculptural and installative devices upon incidental encounters with images and occasional levities that luckily accommodate with his own inner richness. He thus shows magnanimity to “trivial thoughts” and everyday scraps reactivating them as corollaries of his practice and elevating them to the dignity of art works as incorporated into a larger picture.
He was previously shown with solo shows at Viafarini, Italy in 2007 and with group show at the Artsonje Center in Korea, the Korean Contemporary Art Exhibition at Shangart in China and the show for an International Art forum in UK.