Christie's opens inaugural private sale exhibition of Korean Modern and Contemporary Art

HONG KONG.- Christie’s announces Constructive Units: Korean Modern and Contemporary Art, a new private sale exhibition which will run from 29 October to 18 December 2014 at the James Christie Room, Alexandra House. This exhibition features 28 of the latest works from five artists: Choi So-Young (B. 1980), who will be exhibiting her work publicly for the first time in four years, Chung Doo-Hwa (B. 1968), Hong Kyoung-Tack (B. 1968), Kim Dong-Yoo (B. 1965) and modern master Rhee Seundja (1918-2009). All have widespread regional and international recognition and influence.

As the first international auction house in Asia to offer contemporary Korean art in its sales, Christie's is proud of its record of actively promoting Korean modern and contemporary art. Korean art has proven its appeal in the auction market over the last ten years and now attracts a distinct following on the world stage. Out of the five exhibiting artists, Christie's holds the world auction records for two – Choi So-Young and Hong Kyoung-Tack. With accessible selling prices, CONSTRUCTIVE UNITS presents an opportunity for collectors who long for works from one of the fastest-growing art markets in Asia.

CHOI SO-YOUNG (B. 1980)

Born in Busan, Choi So-Young makes an ingenious use of denim, to offer a highly articulate and sophisticated cultural commentary. Portraying a cityscape in a detached way, she liberates the audience from the hectic bustle of the city and invites them to overlook the metropolis from a place of peaceful observation, lulling the viewer into feeling a fondness for the city. The utilization of denim furthers the appeal as it is universally recognized as comfortable attire.

CHUNG DOO-HWA (B. 1968)

Chung Doo Hwa was born in Seoul and in his work he takes a two-dimensional painterly surface and uses this in conjunction with collages to achieve a sculptural effect. The impressive attention Chung gives to his technical process takes inspiration from the Korean Monochrome Art movement of the late 1970s to the early 1980s. His geometric abstraction and subtle modulations of the surface plane of the works elucidate an allegory about the indirect effects of globalization when religion, ethics and philosophy hold little authority over contemporary society.

HONG KYOUNG-TACK (B. 1968)

Hong Kyoung-Tack belongs to the first generation in Korea to experience the benefits from the country’s rapid economic growth. Artists from this generation are the first to introduce pop and kitsch elements into Korean contemporary art. These features are very apparent in Hong's flamboyant paintings, which are filled with daily objects like toys, pens, and books in dazzling florescent colours. Hong always starts painting from his own experience, but knows how to evoke a larger context through his understanding of colour theory and the mechanism of the eye, delivering a commentary on the sensibilities of modern mass culture.

KIM DONG-YOO (B. 1965)

Kim Dong-Yoo creates images from a series of smaller images. By employing multiplication of small “pixels” within a larger image, Kim orchestrates a masterful control of tonal gradient to create a larger, final portrait. When viewed in light of contemporary discourse, his portraitures present an acute critique, aimed at questioning the results of globalization. They also examine the theory of iconic images, dissecting their emblems, or even dissecting their semiotic concept. Understanding that analogy is of great importance in comprehending the very notion of an icon, Kim knowingly consents to this in his painterly creation of multi layered icons that rely heavily on each other, crafting an image for the audience to decipher.

RHEE SEUNDJA (1918-2009)

Rhee Seundja is one of the first Korean artists to successfully position themselves as an abstract painter when working in Paris during the 1950s. Since then, Rhee devoted herself to creating art for six decades. France remained her base all her life and for her art until her death in 2009 at the age of 91. The exhibition highlights her Mother and Earth series, in which Rhee established her own style of repeated small dots and short brushstrokes, producing an elaborate texture and a constructed surface. Rhee extended her motherly affection for her children and her love as a mother into each brushstroke, creating a deep resonance with the viewer.