29 May 2007 — 7 Jul 2007
BAE BIEN-U & OH CHI-GYUN
Group Exhibition

Bae Bien-U and Oh Chi-Gyun, who are both active in different mediums respectively, have for a long time addressed concrete natural objects and daily ordinary objects with a deep affection and profound concern, based on their childhood memories and feelings of nostalgia. Their work typically represents natural, unsophisticated emotions. The two artists infuse art into their lives and approach the authenticity of life, bringing about the sympathy and respect of a wide range of viewers.

Through this exhibition, Gallery 2 brings together 20 of their pieces that are all landscape photographs and landscape paintings, but they demonstrate far more than just landscapes if we pay close attention to the two artists’ similar, yet unique visions. Through the photographs that were originally printed by the artist himself, Bae recalls a vivid dramatic sense of light, density, situations, along with the feelings he felt while taking these pictures which are different than common digital prints.

Oh Chi-Gyun reflects himself onto specific spaces in places ranging from Santa Fe, a city with splendid color sensations, to Sabuk, a coal town, through careful observation of his surrounding environment. In this exhibition, he presents pastels thoroughly exuding a thick matiere and intense hues. The Santa Fe scenes he depicts along with Bae’s photographs provoke a rather dark, yet warmhearted and lyric feeling that lingers in the viewer’s mind. As if showing an aspect of our life that is sometimes beautiful and sometimes complicated, he encapsulates all the possibilities of the colors of the sky as well as those hidden behind the window. The exhibition provides an opportunity to experience the extensive worlds of Bae Bien-U and Oh Chi-Gyun who have both meticulously captured the familiar scenes of our surroundings and raised them to the level of distinguished works of art. 
Bae Bien-U
Sonamu
Gelatin silver print
164 x 83 cm
1997