Transcending Matter.compressed

TRANSCENDING MATTER
YOO BONG SANG | SEO YOUNG-DEOK | LEE GIL RAE

TRANSCENDING MATTER
YOO BONG SANG | SEO YOUNG-DEOK | LEE GIL RAE
22/03 – 12/04/2018

PREFACE
Transcending Matter is a mixed exhibition curated by Opera Gallery Hong
Kong around recent works by three Korean artists: Yoo Bong Sang, Seo
Young-Deok and Lee Gil Rae. These artists share the common, perplexingly
intricate, usage of heavy metal within the creation of their artworks, the
results of which defy the properties of the base element. Seo Young-Deok
uses steel chain, Yoo Bong Sang uses nails and Lee Gil Rae's predilection is
for wrought copper. In contradiction however, are the ephemeral subjects
that they each choose to evoke, which include a range of natural forms,
from trees to the human body.
Yoo Bong Sang is the master of light. He guides light to shimmer and dance
on the surface of his representational wall based art works made of a relief
of thousands and thousands of nails pierced in to a support. Seo Young-
Deok imprisons space within metal chain to create volume and form. His
sculptures often represent anonymous and stylised human archetypes
that are extremely expressive and sensitive, rendered as if captured midbreath
in transition. Lee Gil Rae's welded copper trees, reflect back to us a
symbolic world, where we are also reminded of more pertinent ecological
concerns. Lee uses a multitude of hand wrought metallic rings to render
vegetal forms, bringing to life the inert material through intricate assembly
of form and the ensuing play of shadows and light that they create.
In each case, these three artists are indisputable masters of their
idiosyncratic art form and each demonstrate with unparalleled dexterity
and technique how to shape matter so that it goes beyond its initial
properties in order to express a wider concern. Through their artistic
calling, the physical limits of the media are stretched, symbolism is added
and a vision is presented that transcends matter.
It is with delight and pleasure that we bring you this exhibition of
outstanding works from these three extraordinary contemporary artists
Gilles Dyan
Chairman and Founder of Opera Gallery Group
Sharlane Foo
Director of Opera Gallery Hong Kong
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LEE GIL RAE (B. 1961)
Lee Gil Rae was born in Yeongam-gun, South Korea in 1961.
He graduated with bachelor and masters degrees in fine art
and sculpture from Kyunghee University in Seoul, Korea. For
the past twenty years, Lee has followed nature as his muse,
crafting intricate, organic, tree-form sculptures from steel
and copper pipes, in response to continued deforestation,
depletion of natural resources and environment crisis. Lee
Gil Rae's trees are made with permanence in mind. They have
become an artificial simulation of nature, urbanised and
visionary, transforming the physical properties of plant life
into modern, mechanical forms. Lee Gil Rae has participated
in numerous exhibitions worldwide and features in numerous
private and public collections.
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Pine Tree, 2016
Welded copper
115 x 83 x 25 cm I 45.3 x 32.7 x 9.8 in
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Old Pine Tree, 2015
Welded copper
212 x 170 x 20 cm I 83.5 x 66.9 x 7.9 in
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Above
Pine Tree, 2013
Welded copper
110 x 104 x 7 cm I 43.3 x 41 x 2.8 in
Left
Human Shaped Pine Tree, 2015
Welded copper
200 x 80 x 73 cm I 78.7 x 31.5 x 28.7 in
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Pine Tree, 2013
Welded copper
210 x 115 x 59 cm I 82.7 x 45.3 x 23.2 in
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SEO YOUNG DEOK (B. 1983)
Born in 1983 in Korea, Seo Young-Deok graduated from the department
of Environmental Sculpture at the University of Seoul in 2009 and gained
prominence through his sculptural exploration of the human form through
unconventional materials such as metal chain, a material that has been
critical to the development of the modern world and Korea's manufacturing
industry. Inspired by his own rural upbringing in contrast to his urban
adult life, Seo Young-Deok’s use of chain questions the industrialization
of labor that has become synonymous with today’s human condition. Each
iron piece is welded together to become a part of the dynamic system of
organic connectivity exhibited under human forms; while the material may
be physically strong, its structural completeness is what exudes strength of
the human spirit. By constantly weighting the dichotomy between 'complete’
and ‘incomplete’ existence, Seo Young-Deok addresses the inevitable social
inequalities of the industrial system.
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Anguish 19, 2015
Stainless chain
95 x 70 x 50 cm I 37.4 x 27.6 x 19.7 in
Edition of 8
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Anguish 14, 2013
Iron chain
75 x 45 x 65 cm I 29.5 x 17.7 x 25.6 in
Edition of 8
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Meditation 19, 2015
Iron chain
100 x 90 x 45 cm I 39.4 x 35.4 x 17.8
Edition of 8
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Anguish 18, 2013
Stainless chain
95 x 45 x 70 cm I 37.4 x 17.7 x 27.6 in
Edition of 8
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Meditation 2, 2009
Iron chain
130 x 90 x 45 cm I 51.2 x 35.4 x 17.7 in
Edition of 8
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YOO BONG SANG (B. 1960)
Yoo Bong Sang was born in Korea in 1960 where he still resides. He trained
at the Seoul National University after which he spent a number of years
living and working in France. Yoo's artworks combine the artist’s vision,
his own photography and a laborious process, which involves penetrating
a support of plywood on welded aluminium with thousands and thousands
of nails in order to create the pixels of an image. On average 300,000 pins
are used to create these perplexing and beguiling images. Yoo Bong Sang
was the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2001, and
has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions in museums and galleries
throughout Korea and Europe.

JEAN20170822, 2017
headless pins and acrylic on wood
60 x 120 cm I 23.6 x 47.2 in
28 29

HAN20170105, 2017
headless pins and acrylic on wood
80 x 200 cm I 31.5 x 78.7 in
YG20160816, 2016
headless pins and acrylic on wood
47 x 120 cm I 18.5 x 47.2 in

JJ20170808, 2017
headless pins and acrylic on wood
90 x 360 cm I 35.4 x 141.7 in
33

CY20150917, 2015
headless pins and acrylic on wood
50 x 120 cm I 19.7 x 47.2
35

KJ20130310, 2013
headless pins and acrylic on wood
150 x 200 cm I 59 x 78.7 in
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37

CATH20120321, 2012
nails and acrylic on wood
150 x 100 cm I 59 x 39.4 in
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E20101001, 2010
nails and acrylic on wood
50 x 120 cm I 19.7 x 47.2
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M20090510, 2009
nails and acrylic on wood
110 x 300 cm I 43.3 x 118.1 in
43

M2004, 2004
charcoal powder and nails on wood
47 x 120 cm I 18.5 x 47.2 in
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Published by Opera Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Transcending Matter, Hong Kong, March 23 - April 12, 2018
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.
We would like to thank the artists for their trust. We would also like to thank all our collectors for their kind support throughout the years.
Coordinators: Aurélie Heuzard, Lou Mo, Tom Masson
Photography: Courtesy of Opera Gallery and the artists
Cover: Yoo Bong Sang, M2004, 47 x 120 cm, 2004 (detail)
W Place, 52 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
+ 852 2810 1208 | hkg@operagallery.com operagallery.com
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