Art Space Hohwa will host Kim Byung-joo's solo exhibition "The Web of Time." Kim Byung-joo has been creating architectural spaces using the technique of perspective drawing. His works are based on architectural principles, but not characterized by solid structures. Instead, they consist of overlapping lines that create open spaces, making them ironically non-structural. "The Web of Time" explores Kim's artistic world, showcasing the aesthetic depiction of chaotic structures through construction and deconstruction.
The prominent element in Kim Byung-joo's work is the line. The intricate maze created by layers of thin lines evokes the art of intricately woven fabric. When encountering the exhibition space's lighting, it casts vast shadows on the walls, resembling spiderwebs, and presents a fantastical scene of countless interwoven lines. His work stems from a curiosity about the construction of boundary-defying spaces between reality and unreality and the resulting shift in perception. By transforming three-dimensional architectural forms into two-dimensional drawn images, the artist meticulously weaves the surface of the conceptually closest space in our lives, exposing delicate skeletal structures.
Meanwhile, in his architectural space, viewers are confronted with new situations repeatedly as they move their bodies and eyes. With each step, the various iron wires they see sometimes merge and sometimes collide, continuously presenting new landscapes. The scene from the immediate past transitions into the present and then unfolds into future scenes. In other words, the fixed images and time are constantly refreshed and swayed by the observer's movements. This tension of change, flowing between the artwork and the viewers, disrupts the sense of the present moment, intricately intertwining the past, present, and future moments of time.
Kim Byung-joo's artworks do not exist as simple entities. They dynamically transform and capture the eternal flow of time, guided by light and moving bodies. The title of the exhibition, "The Web of Time," symbolizes the interwoven relationship of time within the artwork, resembling warps and wefts. The French philosopher Henri Bergson explains this intertwined notion of time as the concept of "duration (la durée in French)." According to him, time is not merely a measurable succession of discrete moments but a subjective and continuous structure where past memories connect with the present and future through individual experiences. Within this framework, we are liberated from physical constraints and can experience the free flow of perception. In a similar vein, Kim Byung-joo's artworks question the absoluteness of time and reconfigure the established concepts and frameworks of perception. "The Web of Time" will invite you on a journey through an infinite realm beyond limits and boundaries.
