Exposure

July 2007

In 2003, the government of South Korea burned over thirty of Mr. Choi’s paintings and drawings, on the charge that they were disquieting and lewd. This shocking act of censorship bears witness to the still-controversial nature of frank depictions of sexual desire, decades after the sexual revolution.

Mr. Choi has long believed that pornography and art need not be mutually exclusive, and that pornographic imagery is an especially apt metaphor for this modern, capitalist world that both sells and censors sexual expression and desire. The rough strokes of paint on canvas belie the deceptively licentious subject matter, and thereby point to the growing disconnect between capitalism’s embrace of sexual imagery as a means of commerce - even when that entails transforming young girls into sexual objects in order to advertise products - and the strain of near-puritanical conservatism professed by many of the very same self-avowed capitalists.

Unlike the work of other artists who blur the boundaries between art and pornography, Mr. Choi’s art seems fixated on female genitalia, typically the only unclothed body part of his subjects. The allure is not romantic or even erotic, but base and bestial. Metaphorically, the arousing young women depicted can stand for our morally bankrupt society: at once desirable and disturbing, these women stir up the basest of desires, lust and the desire to possess – yet they retain power for themselves, by inciting unattainable desire, frustrating all attempts of the observer to possess them.

Kyungtae Choi lives and works in Korea. His work has been seen extensively in South Korea since the early 1980s, and has been the subject of nearly a dozen solo exhibitions in Korea. This is Mr. Choi’s first solo exhibition outside of Korea.

Kyungtae Choi: bio

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2007 PS35 Gallery, New York

2003 “From 1987 to Red Cherry” Samji Space, Seoul

2001 “High School” (Girl-Pornography2) Boda Gallery, Seoul

2000 “Pornography” Boda Gallery, Seoul

1996 2020 Gallery, Seoul

1993 Keum-Ho Art Gallery, Seoul (Painting, Woodcut)

1992 “Korean Fantasy” Gallery Dole, Seoul

1990 Gallery Dole, Seoul (Painting)

1990 Hansun Gallery, Seoul (Woodcut)

1987 Hangang Art Museum, Seoul

GROUP SHOWS

1996-1999 “Colleagues Exhibition of Realism”　

1986-1988 “Colleagues Exhibition of Human Era”　

1984-1989 “Working Colleagues 1984”　

Show of Young Consciousness

Show of Korean Art‘s Status in the 1980s

Hangang Woodprints Exhibition

Figure Art Festival

Exhibition, “Here Korea”

Exhibition of The Youth Today

Exhibition of Messages and Media

Exhibition, Life Today & Art Today

DMZ 93 Exhibition

Memorial Exhibition of Donghak Revolution, “Bird, Bird, Blue Bird!”

Exhibition, “Song for Life”

Exhibition of The Ten People’s Search

3 Men’s Exhibition, “Form of Life”

Exhibition, “10 Years of Hangang Art Museum”

Exhibition, “Bitterly Realer Life Than Real Life”

Exhibition of Realism

Exhibition, “Men Facing Death”

Exhibition of Bursting

Exhibition of Independent Art Festival, Ho-Boo-Ho-Hyung

No Cut Exhibition

Exhibition, “Mountains and River of Homeland 2002”

Good Design Festival

Exhibition of Groping 10 Men

Shibuya Exhibition, “Girls Don’t Cry”

Cover Story Exhibition

Exhibition of Joyous Cartoon World, Mobile Museum

Exhibition for Abolishment of National Security Law

Bad Art Show, “Sex is Politics”... etc.

Kyungtae Choi: artwork

untitled (2007)
Oil on Canvas, 31.6" x 39.4"

"J3" (2006)
Oil on Canvas, 35.8" x 45.9

Works by Myung-Sik Kim

June, 2007

Myung-Sik Kim’s recent work has explored the pathos of living in a here and now that has overwhelmed and undermined a cherished past. This temporal tension is magnified by the changes brought about by modernization and urbanization: the rural village of Mr. Kim’s youth is unrecognizable today, its very existence as a separate village obliterated by the encroachment of the city which swallowed it whole. Of course, Mr. Kim recognizes that modernization does offer genuine comforts and conveniences. Yet, his art proposes that in the end it also diminishes our purity as human beings, by offering us a Faustian bargain that disconnect us from our own pasts. Mr. Kim’s visits back to the area where he was born cannot constitute a “return home” because there is no home for him to return to – a city block at the same latitude and longitude is no replacement for the fields of his memories, where he once caught grasshoppers and dragonflies with the friends of his youth.

The recognizable, yet nearly abstract flowers and cityscapes of Mr. Kim’s work question common notions of permanence and stability. What could be more solid than a house or a flower? What could be more stable than a city block or even a clear memory? Yet, at the same time, what could be less real than a present without a past, or a past without a present? Considerations of memory’s inevitable haziness and of an uncomfortable alienation even amidst the comforts of daily life intrude upon past and present, rural and urban, each real yet unreal in their own ways – as real and as unreal as the flora and architecture of Mr. Kim’s paintings.

Myung-Sik Kim was born in South Korea in 1950, and currently serves on the faculty of the Department of Fine Arts at Dong-A University, Busan, South Korea. He received his BFA in 1974 and his MFA in 1981, both from Choong-Ang University, Seoul. His work has been seen in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including recent shows at Victoria Gallery, Sydney (2003), Sun Gallery, Seoul (2005), Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Miami (2006), and Yin Xiang Gallery, Hangzhou, China (2006).

Myung-Sik Kim: Bio

1950 Born in Seoul, Korea

1974 BFA, Dept of Fine Arts, Choong-Ang University in Seoul,Korea

1981 MFA, Dept of Fine Arts, Choong-Ang University in Seoul,Korea

Solo Exhibitions

2006 Kim Jae Sun Gallery (Busan, Korea)

2006 Yin Xiang Gallery (Hangzhou, China)

2006 Diaspora Vibe Gallery (Miami, Florida)

2005 Doosan Art Center (Daegu, Korea)

2005 Lotte Art Gallery (Busan, Korea)

2005 Sun Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

2005 Xpose Gallery (New Jersey)

2004 Roshkowska Gallery (New York, NY)

2004 The Last Picture Show (New Jersey)

2004 Bernard Gallery (New York, NY)

2004 Covan Galleries (Vancouver, Canada)

2004 Chung Jark Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

2004 Road Gallery (Glen Cove, NY)

2003 Tower Gallery (Busan, Korea)

2003 Covan Galleries (Vancouver, Canada)

2003 Victoria Gallery (Sydney, Australia)

2002 Hyundai Art Hall (Ulsan, Korea)

2001 Picasso Gallery (Busan, Korea)

2001 Montserrat Galleries (New York, NY)

2001 Hyundai Art Hall (Busan, Korea)

2001 Hyundai Art Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

2000 ChungJak Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1999 Baek Song Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1999 Hyundai Museum (Ulsan, Korea)

1999 Picasso Gallery (Busan, Korea)

1998 Hyundai Art Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1998 Hyundai Art Hall (Busan, Korea)

1996 Neptuno Gallery (Madrid, Spain)

1996 Baek Song Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1995 Jeong In Gallery (Busan, Korea)

1995 Hyundai Art Hall (Busan, Korea)

1995 Chung Jak Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1995 De Schene Galley (Masan, Korea)

1995 Kim min Jae Galery (Ulsan, Korea)

1994 Yea Maek Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1994 Baek Song Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1994 Agbae Galleries (KwangJu, Korea)

1994 Choong Ang Gallery (Daegu, Korea)

1994 Gallery World (Busan, Korea)

1994 Mokga Gallery (Busan, Korea)

1993 Chung Jak Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1992 Baek Song Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1991 Chung Jak Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1990 Indeco Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1989 Daejeon Gallery (Daejeon, Korea)

1988 Central Gallery (Chiba, Japan)

1986 Shinsegye Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

1984 Ban Do Gallery (Daejeon, Korea)

1984 Sinsegye Gallery (Seoul, Korea)

Two-Three Artist Exhibitions

2004 Grace Institute Gallery (3 Artists) (New York, NY)

2000 Inowue Gallery (3 Artists) (Ginza, Tokyo)

1997 Gallery Art Salon (3 Artists) (Chiba, Japan)

1996 Dabaek Plaza Gallery (2 Artists) (Pohang, Korea)

1991 Mok Ga Gallery (2 Artists) (Busan, Korea)

1990 Emok Gallery (2 Artists) (Seoul, Korea)

1988 Joki Gallery (2 Artists) (Chiba, Japan)

Selected Group Exhibitions

2006 Art Miami (Miami, Florida)

2006 The 7 Korean Artists (Gallery Korea, New York, NY)

2005 Art Off the Main (Puck Building, New York, NY)

2004 Faculty Exchange Exhibition (Busan Culture Center, Busan, Korea)

2003 Existence of Variety (Raod Gallery, New York, NY)

2003 Exhibition"Spring" (Tower Gallery, Busan, Korea)

2002 The Exhibition of 100 Korean Artists (Flushing, NY)

2002 KIAF 2002 (Korea Internatinal Art Fair, Busan, Korea)

2002 Faculty Exchange Exhibition (Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan)

2001 The Korean Contemporary Art (Chelsea Art Center, New York, NY)

2000 The Triangle (Tokyo Inowue Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)

2000 3th Nation University invited (Ching Wah University, Beijing, China)

1999 Contemporary Art Korea and Japan (Lotte Gallery, Busan, Korea)

1998 LA Internation Art Festival 1997 (LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA)

1997 The Wind, Earth (Gallery Art Salon, Japan)

1996 Lantern of the East '96 (Lalit kala akademi, New Delhi, India)

1994 Invitation Exhibition Korean & Canadian Artists (Busan,Korea)

1994 Eroticism' Erotic Language (Dado Gallery, Seoul, Korea)

1994 Busan Art Festival (Art culture Center, Busan, Korea)

1993 Opening Memorial Exhibition of the Dong-A Gallery (Korea)

1993 Montecarlo International Art Exhibition (Montecarlo, Monaco)

1993 Korea Deutsch Belgium 3 Nation Exchange Exhibition (Seoul Art Center, Korea)

1992 Today's Korean Art Exhibition (Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea)

1992 Seoul Art Fair (Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea)

1992 Memorial Exhibition of the IAA Seoul Assembly (Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea)

1992 Invitation Exhibition of the Gusang Jeon Group (India National Museum of Contemporary Art, New Delhi, India)

1992 Invitation Exhibition 2 Artists in Korean (Moka Gallery, Korea)

1992 Contemporary Artworks Preview (National Museum, Korea)

1992 100 small pieces Exhibition (Sejong Gallery, Seoul, Korea)

1991 Korean Young Concrete Artist's Preview (Santica Gallery, Kobe, Japan)

1991 Korea & Japan Regular Arts Exchange Exhibition (Saibu Art Center Hall, Osaka, Japan)

1991 Invitation Exhibition of the Korean & Japanese Artists (Aoyama Gallery Tokyo, Japan)

1991 Invitation Exhibition 3 Artists in Korea (E-mok Gallery, Korea)

1990 Invitation Exhibition"Today's in Korea and Japan (Tokyo National Museum, Japan)

1989 The 89th Korean Artists Festival (Tower Gallery, Busan, Korea)

1989 Societe Nationale Des Beaux-Arts Biennale 89 (Grand Palais, Paris, France)

1989 Selected Exhibition Korean Artists (Ginza Art Center Hall, Japan)

1989 Invitation Exhibition of the 9 Artists (Hyundai Art Gallery, Korea)

1989 Entried to the Exhibition Seoul-Osaka (Osaka, Japan)

1988 Invitation Exhibition of the Memorial "Seoul Olympic 88" (Tokyo, Japan)

1987 Invitation Exhibition of the 8th Biennal International De Arten Valparaiso 1987 (Valparaiso, Chile)

1986 Invitation of the Zeltgenossische Kunster Aus Korea (Airport Gallery Im Flughafen, Frankfrut, Germany)

1981 Today the Korean Artists (Osaka & Tokyo, Japan)

1980 Exhibition of the Active Seven Artists (Tokyo, Japan)

Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seoul

Leeum Museum (SAM SUNG Foundation)

SAMSUNG

LG

Moran Museum

The Memorial Museum of Korean War

Industrial Bank of Korea Hong Kong

Han Wha Group

Dong-A Group

Olympia Hotel

New Seoul Country Club

Maxwell House

Dong-A University Hospital

Court Busan

Centum Readers Mark

Embassy of the Korea in China

Virgin Mother Hospital

Awards and Hornors

2006 Commissioner the Moodeung Art Contest in Korea

2003 Steering Committee of the Danwon Art Contest in Korea

2003 Judge of the National Fine Art Contest in Korea

2002 Judge of the Danwon Fine Art Contest in Korea

2001 Director of the Exhibition's Danwon Art Contest in Korea

2001 Judge of the Busan Art Contest in Korea

1998 Judge of the Moodeung Art Contest in Korea

1998 Commissioner of Korea and Japan contemporary

1996 Director of the Exhibition's Busan Artists Association

1993 Choosed"Today's Artist" in Korea

1990-2002 Commissioner of the Art Group Gusang-Jeon

1982 Golden Prize at the Public Exhibition of Gusang Jeon,Korea

1981 Special Prize at the Choong Ang Press Great Art Contest

1981 Special Prize at the Public Exhibition of Gusang Jeon,Korea

1980 Bronze Prize at the Public Exhibition of Gusang Jeon,Korea

1978 Special Prize at the Exhibition of Korea Artist's Assosiation

1977-83 Selected at the National Art Exhibition

1977 Bronze Prize at the Exhibition of Korea Artist's Assosiation (Sam Sung Foundation)

At Present

Professor Dept of Fine Arts Dong-A University

Member of the National Artists Association in Busan,Korea

Member of the National Artists Association in Seoul,Korea

Myung-Sik Kim: Artwork

"Pop Flower, A-27" (2007)

Acrylic on Canvas, 12" x 12"




"East Side Story, R4" (2007)
Oil on Canvas, 28.6" x 23.9"