yoo bon sang page 1-92

Y O O B O N G - S A N G

Y O O B O N G - S A N G

Published by Fondazione Mudima, Via Alessandro Tadino, 26, 20124 Milano, Italy in 2017
© 2017:
Paintings: YOO Bong-Sang
Photography of Paintings:
Portrait & Detail Photographs from the Studio:
Words:
Design: Joseph Clarke
Cover Image: Detail from 'JJ20170808'
All rights reserved. Except for the purposes of review, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Produced with the kind support of Opera Gallery (operagallery.com)
ISBN

C O N T E N T S
ARTIST STATEMENT
5
ETERNITY EXISTING IN THE MOMENTARY
8
ARTIST INTERVIEW
16
WORKS
24
REALITY IS ALWAYS ON THE MOVE
64
BIOGRAPHY
94

A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
My artworks begin with photography.
When on my travels, I capture images that
inspire my thinking about future pieces
of work.
My photographs are then adjusted to suit
my intentions for the piece that I have
in my minds eye. I adjust the size and
contrasrt of the image accordingly before
moving on to the next stage.
The size and proportions of the
sub-frames that I use are very important
to the process of creating my pieces.
These two criteria will determine the
atmosphere and impact of the finished
piece of work. I view this phase as the
most delicate and painstaking. These
supports are made from welded aluminium
frame and plywood. They are made in such
a way as to prevent distortion, and are
substantial enough to support the weight
of my primary medium.
Having applied my photographic image
to the support that I’ve made, I begin the
paintstaking process of penetrating the
surface with thousands of steel nails fired
from a pressurised nail gun. This part of
my process is simple and repetitive, it
is ardous and time consuming, but it is
something that cannot be avoided.
In these works I use around 300,000
nails on average, although that will vary
depending on the size of the piece. The
nails must be fired in straight and without
error for the desired effect.
The ocular effect is based on the density
of nails, which responds to the underlying
image; this is what ultimately becomes
the final image. The end result is based
on all these different tasks being carried
out effectivelybut despite my knowledge
of the processes required, my labours
are no guarantee of the finished value or
quality of the piece that I have produced.
My simple hope is that rather than seeing
the time that I’ve spent firing nails into
a panel, it will be the atmosphere and
ambience that I intended to create that
will confront you first.
YOO Bong-Sang, 2017
5

ETERNITY EXISTING IN THE
It is an irony that Yoo Bong-Sang's works,
which are filled with light and agile
imagary such as lights flashing along the
horizon, bright areas in contrast to dark
forest shadows and text written on paper,
are in fact made of tens of thousands of
stainless-steel pin nails driven into boards
that weigh dozens of kilograms.
His journey with his camera to collect
images that trigger sympathy is no
different from that of any other artist who
travels with a drawing board, but the
actual process to complete the work is
led by a heaviness comparable to that
of a labourer in a factory. After printing
out the landscapes that inspired him and
pasting them on to a wooden board, the
artist hammers nails into the surface from
top to bottom, sprays pigment on it, and
then grinds the nails down with a grinder.
The work process requires a strictness
that does not allow the slightest of error.
Through this method Yoo Bong-Sang fixes
the momentary spontaneousness of the
landscapes as eternity. He literally 'nails'
each of the instances of rippling light
that is discovered within mother nature
onto his work. In that way he is similar to
the Impressionists, the 'hunters of light',
but unlike the Impressionist paintings, in
which flatness was strictly maintained,
Yoo's relief-like method, where numerous
nails cover the surface, playing with light
in a dimension that differs from painting.
The dispersal of light, instantly reflecting
off the surface of nature, is repeated in
a different dimension as the highlights of
the scene change as the points of view
move according to the direction from
which the nails were ground down.
The moment is fixed for eternity, but
another movement begins within the fixed
internal. The nails create illusions as
they are positioned as bright pixels or
dots. Since the gravity of a pixel differs
according to the size of the work, an
optical illusion caused by the material
itself and an illusion created by the
representation of tones in the landscapes
are mixed. The nails, which have five
or six levels of density according to the
work, rise up out of the dark tones of
blue, purple and red in the background
to serve as the highlights. The negative
part of the picture-plane is covered with
two or three colors of acrylic paint. All
the images captured from locations in
Korea or near the artist's studio in France
include horizons in the landscapes, either
latently or clearly. There are subject
matter like text or the sea, which carry
horizontal characteristics from the start,
8

MOMENTARY
BY LEE SEON-YOUNG
as well as those that are cropped and
spread out horizontally such as the
forest images. The surface that gives an
optical effect, and the monotone colors
strongly evoke the sense of abstraction,
but in the base of Yoo's works is the
eternal source of art - nature. Even in the
case of the works that do not rely on the
printed-out photographs, the immanent
rhythm of nature is evident. The natural
rhythm caused during the work process
reminds us of the landscape of a
roaring ocean.
The instantaneousness carried by light
due to its way of existence consisting
of particles and waves encounters with
the instantaneousness of the camera,
and the work materializes the moments
of rapport with nature. Primarily, Yoo
Bong-Sang's work is characterized by
its non-continuity, which cuts off empty
everyday continuation, and appeals to
the momentary aspect of time in that it
attempts to find newness and energy
through the joining of time-space, which
had been abundant at least for an instant.
The aspect of time in his works is not
something homogeneous, continuous or
abstract, which can be captured through
physical or historical coordinates, is
linked to metaphysical events that
are renewed as existence is launched
every moment. In 'L'intuition de l'instant',
Bachelard said that time is a moment,
and what carries all the functions of time
is the current moment. Based on this
viewpoint, the past is empty just like the
future, and the future is as dead as the
past. From Bachelard's point of view, the
moment does not carry continuity within
it. It does not have momentum towards a
single direction, or any other direction.
Not having multiple aspects, it is the
whole and it is singular. It is when time
accepts pure homogeneity, and when it
is understood within the solitude of the
instant. But in Yoo's works, where the
particles of light form a flow and there are
continuously fluctuating perspectives, the
moment contains continuity within.
Yoo Bong-Sang focuses on a single
moment that compresses life, but there is
also a continuity that is avoided by the
clear conscious thinking, as summarized
by Cartesian philosophy. According
to 'aesthetics of the instant', which
stresses generation within purity and
simplicity, or creation within solitude,
the simple, the strong, the permanent
and everything within us are products of
the moment. Meanwhile, continuity is the
dust of the instant. There is a dissipated
9

heterogeneous characteristic that cannot
be resolved. In Modernist thought,
which praises the eternal presentness
of painting - captured in an instant -
continuity suggests impure opportunities,
in which elements other than painting
start to get mixed up. The works, which
give up the purity of the painting media
- Yoo Bong-Sang relies on a reel instead
of an easel and works with a tacker
instead of a brush - including the ones
with illusions of nature, seem to deviate
from the practices of Modernism, which
adheres to the purity of the moment, but
the alien materials introduced by the artist
secure a sense of homogeneity no less
than fine painting. Moreover, the physical
properties and flat application of colors,
which overwhelm the representational
illusion, share Modernism's progressive
direction towards the purity of painting.
Yoo Bong-Sang's works are landscapes
at a large scale, but at the same time
they are also abstracts. He has merely
discovered a point of balance in which
landscape and abstract do not conflict
with one another. The dialectical relation
set between the continuity of life and
the instantaneousness may be explained
further through the flow of art history.
In 'Art & Objecthood', Michael Fried noted
the contrast between the presentness,
instantaneity, and abstractness of
Modernist abstraction, and the presence,
continuity and objecthood of Minimalism.
This concept of presentness refers to the
powerful and abstract experience related
to the work, which can be compared
with pure perception that takes place
in an extremely short instant. Quoting
Diderot, he reminds us of the 'power to
stop' or 'capability to instantaneously
penetrate the spectator's heart and
draw him/her in' of painting. Fried, who
believed in the momentary power of
painting, placed the instantaneousness
of Modernist works, which are clear
overall in every moment, in contrast with
Minimalist continuity. According to Fried,
thanks to the presentness of Modernist
painting, the viewer experiences the work
instantaneously. In this infinitely short
moment, the viewer observes everything,
experiences the depth and fullness of it,
and gains eternal certainty from it. That
is a short but truly satisfying experience.
Fried, who thinks of art as purely visual,
criticizes Minimalism, which emphasizes
the temporality of perception. After
Minimal, the aspect of time in fine art is
stressed to a great degree, preventing us
from looking at the works of art through a
pure perspective of the present.
Though the word Minimalism has elements
that dismantle the form of painting itself,
the 'minimal' way is often mentioned in
daily language. In the works of the late
90s, which were the beginning of the
artist's works today, there were abstract
works that arranged small picture-planes
12

in a grid form, or used industrial material
such as metal. These were 'minimal'.
But now the 'minimal' aspect of Yoo's
works is in the aspect of time. The
procedural method of work - his work
differs from those that can be produced
freely, working on this part and then that
part - and the horizontal composition
dormant in the works contain a certain
continuity of time, ultimately in the method
of representing the light and darkness,
which follows the gaze of the spectators.
The instantaneousness that awakens the
moment of clear consciousness and the
continuous absorbtion that advances with
the flow of time exist simultaneously. But
in his work continuity does not take place
through 'objects', which rely on uncertain
unconsciousness, but through conscious
'works'. The work process is strict and
fulfills the density or qualitative standards
as a high art form, and is also equipped
with a self-sufficiency and self-identity
regardless of the spectators' experiences.
His work, which is made by hammering
nails, could be a method that expands the
act of completing a flat work of high purity
and hanging it on the wall to infinity. But
there is a self-betraying element in the
attitude of trying to define something
strictly. In retrospect, the impulse of early
modernism, which attempted to combine
the moment with eternity, was like that.
Baudelaire, who declared the beginning of
Modernism, said "the modern is something
transient, something that disappears, and
something accidental. This accounts for
half of art, while the other half is eternal
and something that does not change." The
accidental aspect here reached its peak
with Impressionism. This trend combined
with progressivism of the modern times,
which led to after Modernism, giving
birth to the aesthetics of uncertainty and
obscurity of Post-modernism. Amidst
such trends, it seems that the eternity
that Baudelaire mentioned together with
spontaneity was oppressed, but if we
recall the works of Neoclassicism seen in
Post-impressionism, or those of Matisse
or Cezanne, eternity was clearly an axis
in modern and contemporary art together
with spontaneity. The dialectics of eternity
and the moment, which clearly existed in
the beginning of Modernism, later flowed
in a certain direction through various
'isms' and aesthetic claims that had fallen
into dogmatism. However, Yoo Bong-
Sang's works, which insert continuity
in instantaneousness through unique
material and painterly methodology,
have a vitality like the dance of floating
particles, and yet also contain a
mysterious tranquility like the 'Temple of
Nature' (Baudelaire). It is a modernity with
balance, where creation and structure
coexist. In Yoo Bong-Sang's works, the
instantaneous sparkling is no longer a
"shaking reflection of the distant eternity,
but becomes the very threshold of
the eternal" (Henri Lefevre).
13

14

ARTIST INTERVIEW
Could you tell us about your quite unusual
technique, based on the use of steel nails
and reel?
My recent work based on headless nails,
and my previous pieces with polished
nails, were created using a pneumatic nail
gun over an underlying original design.
Depending on that base design, I fire
in the nails following the differences in
density within the image and the process
finishes with the application of colour.
For the series using headless nails, I
used stainless steel nails about as thick
as needles. I add most of the nails in the
darker parts of the base image. I then
finish my works using different tones,
sometimes applying the colour only to the
ends of the nails.
light makes waves over the tips of the
nails is another aspect that viewers
can experience. So since the nails are
positioned differently in these two styles
- in the darker parts of the image or the
lighter parts - it would be fair to refer
to the use of headless nails as ‘positive
nailing’, and the use of headed nails as
‘negative nailing’.
If you want to talk about the ‘reel’,
it’s there only to make it easier for me
to use the pneumatic nail gun. The
spring takes some of the weight of
the nail gun, leaving me free to work
more quickly.
What is the origin of your nickname 'Nail'?
In my previous work, I increased the
density of nails in the lighter parts of the
image, and then ground down their heads.
To bring out the bright shine of stainless
metal, I then used dark colours to
create contrast.
The ideal complement to these works is
soft light at a fairly high level, and by
changing viewpoint - by walking around
the work or increasing and decreasing
the viewing distance - the way in which
I think it must be because I’ve used this
nailing technique ever since 2000. People
often remember me because of the fact I
use nails.
You have been living in France for more
than twenty years; how has this double
culture influenced your work?
18 years to be precise. I don’t think that
having lived in two countries as different
16

from each other as Korea and France has
influenced my work. Rather than affecting
my work, it’s been a very good opportunity
for me to observe the cultural differences
between the East and West.
The horizon and minimal landscapes of
Chartres and the Beauce region where
I used to live, I will cherish for a very
long time.
Cathedrals by Claude Monet?
Some people may think that I have
reinterpreted a work by Claude Monet;
but the cathedral that appears in my work
is Chartres, the city in which I lived. For
someone like me, who wasn’t used to
this kind of architecture, this cathedral
seemed exotic, and with soft lighting I
was able to obtain an image that became
the source of my piece.
How did this stated affiliation to Modernism
start imbuing your work?
Rather than draw inspiration from a
particular style of art, I’m much more
stimulated and influenced by moments
from everyday life.
Glaring sunlight and shadow, a forest
in the rain or covered by heavy fog, a
camera, the sleeve of a garment or a
delicate hand, films, Edward Hopper,
good coffee, good company, the smell
of fresh washing, trees, cobblestone...
I could go on to list a thousand sources
of inspiration.
How do you deal with the question of
shades – created by nails and matter- in
your works? Are they the starting point
of your compositions, or rather do you
compose with them as you go along?
My pieces always begin with photography.
I spend a lot of time waiting for the
ideal light that will give my photographs
a certain quality of shadow that I can
work with in my pieces. I then choose
those photographs that will be best for
my underlying designs based on those
shadows, which will determine the density
of nails I use.
Could you explain your re-interpretation
of the famous Impressionist series of
You use very specific framings, of a
quasi-photographic nature. What is your
17

connection to this medium?
As I mentioned previously, my pieces
always begin with photography. It’s a
form of expression that’s very dear to
me, and which has helped me develop
my art. I use photography as my basic
design tool, after having shaped it to suit
my preferences, and I also make my own
frames which, along with the photographs,
are the starting point for my pieces. Having
applied my selected photograph carefully
to each frame that I have created, I’m
ready to start the practical part of my
creative process.
Your works often hold a meditative or
ethereal aspect, contrasting with the
industrial connotation of the nails. Could
you tell us about this dichotomy?
I name my works purely to make it easier
to classify them. The first letter refers to
the name of the place or the first name
of the person, and the figures that follow
are simply the date on which I created the
piece.
Do you consider a progression of your
technique for you coming creations, and
notably via other tools, non-standard in
painting?
The use of new materials is something I
constantly think about; so, if I can find a
new material which is just as interesting
as nails, then why not?
It’s true that nails are hard, cold materials
primarily designed for industrial use.
My work is about using this hard, cold
metal to produce a soft and delicate
result. Sometimes, I feel that I wish to
express and represent moments that
cannot be frozen in time. I think that's the
ironic flipside of my pieces.
What would be your reading or how could
we read interpret / explain the systematic
character of your work titles?
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18

19

24

JAR20170818
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
60 x 120 cm
25

JJ20170808
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
90 x 360 cm
26

27

28

P20100427
nails and acrylic on wood panel
70 x 200 cm
29

P1225
nails and acrylic on wood panel
70 x 200 cm
30

31

32

P1212
nails and acrylic on wood panel
70 x 200 cm
33

R20130404
nails and acrylic on wood panel
100 x 300 cm
34

35

36

KJW20100924
nails and acrylic on wood panel
80 x 200 cm
37

HR20121108
nails and acrylic on wood panel
100 x 150 cm
38

39

40

KJ20111215
nails and acrylic on wood panel
100 x 150 cm
41

F20090202
nails and acrylic on wood panel
150 x 330 cm
42

43

44

KJW20100806
nails and acrylic on wood panel
70 x 200 cm
45

KJ20130107
nails and acrylic on wood panel
150 x 200 cm
46

47

48

P20090929
nails and acrylic on wood panel
130 x 130 cm
49

JJ20170105
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
150 x 100 cm
50

51

52

KJW20101001
nails and printed image on wood panel
100 x 130 cm
53

BB20090618
nails and acrylic on wood panel
110 x 150 cm
54

55

56

R20100831
nails and acrylic on wood panel
50 x 150 cm
57

M20090510
nails and acrylic on wood panel
110 x 300 cm
58

59

60

M2004
nails and charcoal powder on wood panel
47 x 120 cm
61

E20101001
nails and acrylic on wood panel
50 x 120 cm
62

63

REALITY IS ALWAYS ON THE
We already know that nails are for
holding objects. What we did not
know, however, is that they could
also be used to hold light. Yoo Bong-
Sang’s works prove to us the latter
usage. Yoo Bong-Sang painted for
a long time and found fascination in
using nails as his material since 2000
and this opened up a new horizon
for him.
Nails allowed Yoo Bong Sang to explore
many themes ranging from almost
abstract landscapes, forests, ocean
surface to Cathedral of Chartres.
Through nails, Yoo Bong Sang was
able to view the conventional themes
of paintings with a new angle and to
create never-before-seen relief which
was achieved by allocating shady or
brilliant lots to his painting and by
playing with reflection of light.
It was, in fact, landscapes that led
Yoo Bong Sang to nails. In the early
90s, when he settled in France, he was
inspired by the vast plain of Beauce. A
distinctly marked skyline horizontally
crossed his art works, evoking an image
of a field in the lower part and the sky
in the upper part through the use of
monochromic contrast.
When he began working with nails, Yoo
Bong Sang applied the same principle
and designated grey for the sky and
nails for the ground.
These nails that he drives in one after
the other, in a row, randomly, blindly
and in a mechanical way in the end
create a rhythm that is reminiscent of
sometimes of a writing or sometimes
of waves. Yoo Bong Sang explored
these two directions.
For the first one, he bluntly pressed
alphabet stamps onto lead plate. And
for the latter direction, he quit using his
habitual skylines to entirely cover the
64

MOVE BY HENRI-FRANÇOIS DEBAILLEUX
painting with nails which, according
to their location and their density,
evoke the movement of the sea and
waves. Yoo Bong Sang noticed that
his technique of using nails allowed
him to leave the abstract field to
move toward the representation
of all choices of subjects. Without
nails, he would never have made the
cathedral paintings.
Because head of nails look like pencil
points, Yoo Bong Sang can draw
everything he wants. He created
brightness and darkness and light
reflection by grinding down the
head of the nails and orientating
its inclination. The use of nails is
therefore, in no way, an end in itself.
Even without mentioning the details of
many different and subtle processes
of work, this material allows Yoo
Bong Sang to create effects that
he would not have obtained in any
other way.
One of the notable effects is the
vibration of color and changes in
tonality which occur according to
different viewing angles. With changes
in the point of view, picture does not
stay the same, but it modifies itself
under our eyes every time we move a
step closer to it.
When Yoo Bong Sang painted his still
landscapes, he suspended the time.
He created animation in every picture.
He still expresses time but, now, he
inserted the notion of movements and
passages. In the end, his works remind
us that reality is complex, changeable
and always on the move.
65

18

19

68

PAG20161122
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
60 x 120 cm
69

PAG20170615
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
60 x 120 cm
70

71

72

CATH20140404
nails and acrylic on wood panel
100 x 150 cm
73

CATH20130927
nails and acrylic on wood panel
100 x 150 cm
74

75

76

CATH20091024
nails and acrylic on wood panel
130 x 130 cm
77

PARIS20170925
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
100 x 150 cm
78

79

80

HAN20170105
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
80 x 200 cm
81

82

ABOVE: VA20160606
nails and acrylic on wood panel
30 x 45 cm
LEFT: SIE20170707
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
150 x 100 cm
83

JEAN20170822
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
60 x 120 cm
84

85

86

CY20150917
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
50 x 120 cm
87

Portrait HW20161009 for Human Presence I
oil, acrylic, headless collage, pins and pencil acrylic on on primed wood wood panel panel
92 x 90 92 x cm 175 cm
88

89

90

YG20160816
headless pins and acrylic on wood panel
47 x 120 cm
91

B I O G R A P H Y
1983 B.F.A Seoul National University
1987 M.F.A Seoul National University
1990-08 Lived and worked in France
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Fondazione Mudima, Milan
Gallery PIU, Jeonju
2015 Gallery D, Sockcho
2014 Gallery Imazoo, Seoul
2013 Gallery Bundo, Daegu
2009 Gallery Hyundai, Seoul
2009 YoungEun Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeonggi
2008 POSCO Art Museum, Seoul
2004 Gallery IHN, Seoul
2002 Gallery Johyun, Pusan
2001 Gallery Seomi, Seoul
1996 Gilbert Brownstone & Cie Gallery, Paris
1994 Espace Bateau-Lavoir, Paris
1993 ARTSENAL, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris
1993 Espace Lucernaire, Paris
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017 'Transcend Time', Gallery GRIMSON, Seoul
'3 Artists', KWON, YOO, JEONG” KWONJINKYU
Museum, Chuncheon
'Conviction and Doubt-Trilogy', 021 Gallery, Daegu
2016 'Lobbyist Show', KMCA, Seoul
'The Great Labour', SOMA Museum, Seoul
2015 'YOO Bong Sang', GUK Dae Ho 2 persons Exhibition,
Gallery Song-A Dang, Seoul
2014 'Audible Modern Art, Visible Classics', ILJU &
SEONHWA Gallery, Seoul
'Re-Imagination, Ilwoo Space, Seoul
2013 'Open Mind', KOTRA, Seoul
2012 'Unlimited, Unlimited - An Exhibition of 14 Korean
Artists', Kwai Fung Hin Art Gallery, Hong Kong
2010 'Contemporary Korean Artists' Cantor Fitzerald
Gallery, Haverford, Pennsylvania
2009 'The Great Hands', Gallery Hyundai, Seoul
2006 'Frontières', Museum of Montparnasse, Paris
'3 Korean Artists', Ibu Gallery, Paris
2005 'The Seoul Art Exhibition', Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul
'SONAMOU Paris-Seou', Korea Foundation, Seoul
GRANTS
2001 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
COLLECTIONS
Busan Museum of Art
JEJU Museum of Contemporary Art
Art Bank, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea
Pohang Museum of Steel Art
Government Complex Sejong
AMOREPACIFIC Museum of Art
SeMA, Seoul Museum of Art
YoungEun Museum
YOO Bong-Sang is represented by Opera Gallery Worldwide