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Kukje Artists
Institutional Exhibitions
Kukje Artists
Institutional Exhibitions
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February 2025
Ha Chong-Hyun Presents Ha Chong-Hyun 5975 at Art Sonje Center, Seoul, Korea
Ha Chong-Hyun, a key figure in Dansaekhwa movement and pioneer of Korean avant-garde art, presents early works in his solo exhibition Ha Chong-Hyun 5975 at Art Sonje Center in Seoul. This exhibition explores the evolution of his pictorial language in interaction with the socio-historical context of post-war Korea.
The title “5975” refers to the years 1959, when Ha graduated from Hongik University, and 1975, when he began experimenting with his iconic Conjunction series. Dividing this period into four phases chronologically and thematically, the exhibition traces the trajectory of his experimental visual language. The first section presents Ha’s early works influenced by the Informel movement, reflecting the chaos, anxiety, and desolation in the post-war Korea. Notably, the artist reinterpreted Informel by exploring the potential of various materials and expanding the boundaries of painting. The second section showcases works from the late 1960s, a period marked by rapid urbanization and economic growth, during which Ha experimented with geometric abstraction and the fusion of tradition and modernity. Among the works in this section, the Naissance series demonstrates how Ha translated traditional elements such as dancheong patterns, colors, and mat-weaving techniques into contemporary visual language. The third section examines Ha’s experimental endeavors through his involvement with the Korean Avant-Garde Association (AG). This section reveals his use of everyday objects found in the aftermath of the war, such as barbed wire, newspapers, tissue paper, plaster, and springs, into his paintings, symbolizing the social oppression of his time. Finally, the fourth section highlights the beginnings of his Conjunction series, in which he experimented with his trademark process known as bae-ap-bub.
Ha Chong-Hyun’s early works are characterized by an experimental attitude, pushing the limits of paint and refusing to settle into any single approach. His has continued his practice in disappearing traditions, reflections on rapid societal changes, use of everyday materials, and an exploration of materiality that seeks to transcend the flat surface of the canvas. This spirit of experimentation runs through his early work and remains a crucial aspect of his artistic practice to this day. The exhibition continues until April 20.
The title “5975” refers to the years 1959, when Ha graduated from Hongik University, and 1975, when he began experimenting with his iconic Conjunction series. Dividing this period into four phases chronologically and thematically, the exhibition traces the trajectory of his experimental visual language. The first section presents Ha’s early works influenced by the Informel movement, reflecting the chaos, anxiety, and desolation in the post-war Korea. Notably, the artist reinterpreted Informel by exploring the potential of various materials and expanding the boundaries of painting. The second section showcases works from the late 1960s, a period marked by rapid urbanization and economic growth, during which Ha experimented with geometric abstraction and the fusion of tradition and modernity. Among the works in this section, the Naissance series demonstrates how Ha translated traditional elements such as dancheong patterns, colors, and mat-weaving techniques into contemporary visual language. The third section examines Ha’s experimental endeavors through his involvement with the Korean Avant-Garde Association (AG). This section reveals his use of everyday objects found in the aftermath of the war, such as barbed wire, newspapers, tissue paper, plaster, and springs, into his paintings, symbolizing the social oppression of his time. Finally, the fourth section highlights the beginnings of his Conjunction series, in which he experimented with his trademark process known as bae-ap-bub.
Ha Chong-Hyun’s early works are characterized by an experimental attitude, pushing the limits of paint and refusing to settle into any single approach. His has continued his practice in disappearing traditions, reflections on rapid societal changes, use of everyday materials, and an exploration of materiality that seeks to transcend the flat surface of the canvas. This spirit of experimentation runs through his early work and remains a crucial aspect of his artistic practice to this day. The exhibition continues until April 20.
February 2025
Koo Bohnchang Presents Koo Bohnchang: The Look of Things at the National Asian Culture Center, Gwangju, Korea
Koo Bohnchang, a pioneer of Korean contemporary photography, presents Koo Bohnchang: The Look of Things at the National Asian Culture Center (ACC) in Gwangju, Korea. The exhibition marks the inaugural exhibition of the ACC Focus series, organized by the ACC to present solo exhibitions of Asian contemporary artists who have redefined the framework of culture and art. Koo Bohnchang: The Look of Things delves into Koo’s key works centered on objects, exploring both larger and smaller narratives surrounding these objects while highlighting Korean, and more broadly, Asian sentiments embedded in his works.
The exhibition is divided into three parts. Part 1, “Breathing Life into Historical Objects with History” presents Koo’s works that reinterpret national treasures and artifacts from the Korean War through videos and installations. One notable series, Vessel, is composed of photographs capturing white porcelain that has been smuggled out of Korea. They are presented as hanging scrolls suspended from the ceiling, evoking the dramatic imagery of the porcelain's spirit returning to its homeland. Another well-known series, Gold, is displayed using lightboxes placed horizontally on the floor, recalling the glory of the Silla gold crowns before they were excavated and turned into historic artifacts.
The second part of the exhibition, “Discovering Trivial Objects in Everyday Life” presents photograph series capturing quotidian found objects. The works capture the inherent temporality of various objects: the artist’s possessions in the Collections series; a device of French architecture from the 15th century in Chasse-Roue; empty boxes and spaces in the Interiors and the Object; bars of soap in the Soap. Among other works, Koo’s film work Korea Fantasy (2017) will be also displayed for the first time. Capturing the colors and patterns of Dancheong, traditional Korean decorative wood coloring, in a dynamic motion, the work reflects the artist's broad interest in tradition and cultural heritage.
Finally, the third part, “Encountering the Gaze of Koo Bohnchang” showcases the artist’s personal collection of objects as well as collaborative works with mass media, along with archival materials that offer insight into the exhibition’s theme and Koo’s practice. Additionally, portraits of various artists, taken by Koo over many years, highlight his distinct vision across multiple disciplines.
Koo Bohnchang’s works capture the unique stories of objects over time in a manner reminiscent of portrait photography. Blending traditional Korean aesthetics with Koo’s unique perspective, the exhibition runs through March 30.
The exhibition is divided into three parts. Part 1, “Breathing Life into Historical Objects with History” presents Koo’s works that reinterpret national treasures and artifacts from the Korean War through videos and installations. One notable series, Vessel, is composed of photographs capturing white porcelain that has been smuggled out of Korea. They are presented as hanging scrolls suspended from the ceiling, evoking the dramatic imagery of the porcelain's spirit returning to its homeland. Another well-known series, Gold, is displayed using lightboxes placed horizontally on the floor, recalling the glory of the Silla gold crowns before they were excavated and turned into historic artifacts.
The second part of the exhibition, “Discovering Trivial Objects in Everyday Life” presents photograph series capturing quotidian found objects. The works capture the inherent temporality of various objects: the artist’s possessions in the Collections series; a device of French architecture from the 15th century in Chasse-Roue; empty boxes and spaces in the Interiors and the Object; bars of soap in the Soap. Among other works, Koo’s film work Korea Fantasy (2017) will be also displayed for the first time. Capturing the colors and patterns of Dancheong, traditional Korean decorative wood coloring, in a dynamic motion, the work reflects the artist's broad interest in tradition and cultural heritage.
Finally, the third part, “Encountering the Gaze of Koo Bohnchang” showcases the artist’s personal collection of objects as well as collaborative works with mass media, along with archival materials that offer insight into the exhibition’s theme and Koo’s practice. Additionally, portraits of various artists, taken by Koo over many years, highlight his distinct vision across multiple disciplines.
Koo Bohnchang’s works capture the unique stories of objects over time in a manner reminiscent of portrait photography. Blending traditional Korean aesthetics with Koo’s unique perspective, the exhibition runs through March 30.
February 2025
Jean-Michel Othoniel Reveals Permanent Installation at the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, France
Jean-Michel Othoniel’s stained-glass installation has been permanently placed in the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, France. Designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, this medieval Romanesque basilica is the largest church along to the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain and holds the second-largest collection of relics after Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The basilica’s exterior is characterized by the use of locally produced orange bricks from the Toulouse region, while its structural elements are built from stone. Although extensively restored in the 1860–70s, a later effort in the 1980s sought to return the basilica to its original state, shaping its present appearance.
Othoniel’s stained-glass installation, placed in the rose window above the main entrance on the west façade of the basilica, replaces what was previously a polycarbonate covering. Since the façade faces west, the setting sun would shine directly into the basilica, posing a risk of damage to the historic Cavaillé-Coll organ located beneath the window. In response, the basilica commissioned Othoniel to create a new rose window, which he completed in collaboration with the master glassmakers of Ateliers Loire in Chartres. Measuring 5.5 meters in diameter, the window features a palette of gold, sky blue, bright red, and soft pink—colors inspired by the 19th-century stained glass inside the basilica and classical paintings depicting the Christian subject of The Education of the Virgin.
Reminiscent of Othoniel’s glass sculptures, the design consists of organically arranged circles of varying sizes, creating a dynamic interplay between organic form, color palette, spatial atmosphere and the historical identity of the basilica. The composition seamlessly integrates with the basilica’s brick and stone interior, enhancing its architectural harmony.
Reflecting on the concept behind the work, Othoniel remarked that he envisioned a space that would be “visible both day and night, from inside and outside” the basilica. This is not the first time the artist has reimagined a historic site—he previously transformed the treasury of the medieval Saint-Pierre Cathedral in Angoulême, infusing it with contemporary artistic elements while respecting its historical identity. In both projects, Othoniel bridges past and present, offering a timeless and transcendent beauty.
[Source: Mairie de Toulouse official press release]
Othoniel’s stained-glass installation, placed in the rose window above the main entrance on the west façade of the basilica, replaces what was previously a polycarbonate covering. Since the façade faces west, the setting sun would shine directly into the basilica, posing a risk of damage to the historic Cavaillé-Coll organ located beneath the window. In response, the basilica commissioned Othoniel to create a new rose window, which he completed in collaboration with the master glassmakers of Ateliers Loire in Chartres. Measuring 5.5 meters in diameter, the window features a palette of gold, sky blue, bright red, and soft pink—colors inspired by the 19th-century stained glass inside the basilica and classical paintings depicting the Christian subject of The Education of the Virgin.
Reminiscent of Othoniel’s glass sculptures, the design consists of organically arranged circles of varying sizes, creating a dynamic interplay between organic form, color palette, spatial atmosphere and the historical identity of the basilica. The composition seamlessly integrates with the basilica’s brick and stone interior, enhancing its architectural harmony.
Reflecting on the concept behind the work, Othoniel remarked that he envisioned a space that would be “visible both day and night, from inside and outside” the basilica. This is not the first time the artist has reimagined a historic site—he previously transformed the treasury of the medieval Saint-Pierre Cathedral in Angoulême, infusing it with contemporary artistic elements while respecting its historical identity. In both projects, Othoniel bridges past and present, offering a timeless and transcendent beauty.
[Source: Mairie de Toulouse official press release]
February 2025
Ugo Rondinone, Subject of Solo Exhibition UGO RONDINONE. arched landscape at the Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria
Contemporary artist Ugo Rondinone’s solo exhibition, UGO RONDINONE. arched landscape, is currently on view at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria.
Rondinone has donated his minimalist sculpture arched landscape (2016) to the Belvedere Museum and installed it at the center of Carlone Hall, where it resonates with the spatial context under the Baroque ceiling fresco by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone (1686–1775).
The massive arch-shaped sculpture draws the audience’s attention to the work and invites them to look through the arched frame to the landscape beyond. arched landscape is primarily made of soil, an organic substance, granting it a unique, sensual quality. The spatial context together with its materiality represents an interplay between nature and culture—much like Carlone’s frescoes, arched landscape reflects a contrast between vulnerability and strength, as well as the internal structure of the self and the external world. Furthermore, the exhibition offers an opportunity to reinterpret the concept of the Baroque sublime from a contemporary perspective.
This extraordinary encounter between Carlone’s fresco, a masterpiece of 17th-century Baroque art, and Rondinone’s sculpture, will be on view until March 16, 2025.
Rondinone has donated his minimalist sculpture arched landscape (2016) to the Belvedere Museum and installed it at the center of Carlone Hall, where it resonates with the spatial context under the Baroque ceiling fresco by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone (1686–1775).
The massive arch-shaped sculpture draws the audience’s attention to the work and invites them to look through the arched frame to the landscape beyond. arched landscape is primarily made of soil, an organic substance, granting it a unique, sensual quality. The spatial context together with its materiality represents an interplay between nature and culture—much like Carlone’s frescoes, arched landscape reflects a contrast between vulnerability and strength, as well as the internal structure of the self and the external world. Furthermore, the exhibition offers an opportunity to reinterpret the concept of the Baroque sublime from a contemporary perspective.
This extraordinary encounter between Carlone’s fresco, a masterpiece of 17th-century Baroque art, and Rondinone’s sculpture, will be on view until March 16, 2025.
February 2025
SUPERFLEX, Subject of Solo Exhibition SUPERFLEX and Asger Jorn: Superconversation at Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, Denmark
The Danish artist collective SUPERFLEX’s solo exhibition SUPERFLEX and Asger Jorn: Superconversation is currently on view at Museum Jorn in Silkeborg, Denmark. Featuring a total of five works, the exhibition interweaves the works and philosophies of Asger Jorn (1914–1973), Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), Jørn Utzon (1918–2008) and other key artists from the museum's collection with those of the Danish art trio, forming a discourse on the role and future of art institution.
The exhibition features Superconversation (2024), a piece of sound art in which SUPERFLEX has utilized AI text generators and voice replication technology to create a virtual dialogue between nine artists. The work restores the voices of deceased artists to provide new possibilities of museums, bringing to life a dialogue about the intersection between the work of masters and the artists' own practice in a changing world. Also newly presented in this exhibition is Superbrick Factory (2024), a physical representation of a factory in the museum that produces pink, curved, non-calcined earthen bricks called ”Superbricks.” These “Superbricks” are produced on site and utilized to make other sculptures. Following the end of the exhibition, such sculptures made of “Superbricks” will be placed around the museum grounds, where the unheated clay of the non-fired bricks will eventually return to nature over time. This challenges the logic behind institutions’ “continuous preservation” and alludes to the cyclical relationships within the flow of time.
By transcending the boundaries between the past and present, or nature and artificiality, SUPERFLEX presents experimental approaches that suggest new possibilities in art. The exhibition continues through March 2, 2025.
The exhibition features Superconversation (2024), a piece of sound art in which SUPERFLEX has utilized AI text generators and voice replication technology to create a virtual dialogue between nine artists. The work restores the voices of deceased artists to provide new possibilities of museums, bringing to life a dialogue about the intersection between the work of masters and the artists' own practice in a changing world. Also newly presented in this exhibition is Superbrick Factory (2024), a physical representation of a factory in the museum that produces pink, curved, non-calcined earthen bricks called ”Superbricks.” These “Superbricks” are produced on site and utilized to make other sculptures. Following the end of the exhibition, such sculptures made of “Superbricks” will be placed around the museum grounds, where the unheated clay of the non-fired bricks will eventually return to nature over time. This challenges the logic behind institutions’ “continuous preservation” and alludes to the cyclical relationships within the flow of time.
By transcending the boundaries between the past and present, or nature and artificiality, SUPERFLEX presents experimental approaches that suggest new possibilities in art. The exhibition continues through March 2, 2025.
February 2025
Gimhongsok, Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor, and Elmgreen & Dragset Participate in the 4th Bangkok Art Biennale: Nurture Gaia
Works by Gimhongsok, Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor, and Elmgreen & Dragset are on view at the 4th Bangkok Art Biennale: Nurture Gaia. Presenting 76 artists from 39 countries around the world, the Biennale takes place in the vibrant art scene of Southeast Asia across 11 different venues throughout the city, showcasing works of various media including drawing, painting, sculpture, video, and installation.
The title and theme of the Biennale, 'Nurture Gaia,' refers to the 'Gaia Hypothesis,' which views the Earth as a living organism as well as the maternal figure of Mother Earth, symbolizing life and abundance. The Biennale not only explores contemporary themes such as anthropology, collectivism, ecology, and feminism, but also sheds light on urgent issues facing humanity, including climate change, disease, war, and environmental destruction.
In the Biennale, Gimhongsok showcases new pieces from his Solitude of Silences series, featuring hyperrealistic sculptures of individuals from diverse professions and age groups wearing animal masks. Anish Kapoor presents S-Curve (2006), a sculpture with a curved and polished steel surface that engages with its surroundings through continuously changing reflections. Elmgreen & Dragset’s Still Life (2024), white-lacquered bronze hands delicately holding a small bird, conveys a sense of fragility and vulnerability. Lastly, Louise Bourgeois’s bronze sculpture Nature Study (1984) is a reinterpretation of ancient sculptures symbolizing maternity. The Biennale runs through February 25, 2025.
The title and theme of the Biennale, 'Nurture Gaia,' refers to the 'Gaia Hypothesis,' which views the Earth as a living organism as well as the maternal figure of Mother Earth, symbolizing life and abundance. The Biennale not only explores contemporary themes such as anthropology, collectivism, ecology, and feminism, but also sheds light on urgent issues facing humanity, including climate change, disease, war, and environmental destruction.
In the Biennale, Gimhongsok showcases new pieces from his Solitude of Silences series, featuring hyperrealistic sculptures of individuals from diverse professions and age groups wearing animal masks. Anish Kapoor presents S-Curve (2006), a sculpture with a curved and polished steel surface that engages with its surroundings through continuously changing reflections. Elmgreen & Dragset’s Still Life (2024), white-lacquered bronze hands delicately holding a small bird, conveys a sense of fragility and vulnerability. Lastly, Louise Bourgeois’s bronze sculpture Nature Study (1984) is a reinterpretation of ancient sculptures symbolizing maternity. The Biennale runs through February 25, 2025.
February 2025
Haegue Yang, Subject of Solo Exhibition Lost Lands and Sunken Fields at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, USA
Contemporary artist Haegue Yang’s solo exhibition, Haegue Yang: Lost Lands and Sunken Fields, is currently on view at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. The exhibition highlights Yang’s sculptural practice which has continually subverted modernist ideas about sculptural production. It also showcases approximately fifty works consisting of existing works as well as newly-produced small-scale sculptures, occupying both levels of the museum’s galleries and garden.
Over the past three decades, Yang has developed a prolific and hybrid body of work that folds quotidian objects and folk traditions into the canon of modern and contemporary sculpture-making. Informed by in-depth exploration into vernacular techniques, customs, and rituals, along with her continual movement through disparate cultures, Yang’s work is both an homage to and critique of the modernist project toward singular Western domination. The exhibition engages directly with dialectics of contrasts: of light and dark, aerial and grounded, buoyant and heavy, spare and dense, interior and exterior. Such is further witnessed in the exhibition’s presentation that brings the contrasts together in one space, as well as the displayed works that incubate the Mother Nature in their small bodies.
Presented in the exhibition is a new body of works that incorporates the architectural traits of the museum. Suspended from the ceiling is a group of sculptures titled Airborne Paper Creatures – Triple Synecology (2025), taking inspiration from centuries-old kite-making traditions across the Pan-Asian region. The work refers to the study of interactions between species that share a habitat and delicately and ethereally captures the dynamic actions taken by birds, marine animals and insects through materials such as hanji and marbled paper with a variety of embellishments. In the meantime, Mignon Votives (2025) form a small colony of pinecones and pebbles on the ground, intricately decorated with both organic and inorganic materials. This group of diminutive sculptures is seen as Yang’s attempt to interweave the natural horizontal landscape with small-scale sculptures. Lastly, the subterranean level of the museum showcases Cenote Observatory, an ensemble of seven sculptures produced since 2016. The works are either suspended or standing freely on casters, boasting voluminous and tentacled bodies replete with bushy, hairy, metallic, and woven surfaces, further creating an immersive environment.
Jed Morse, Interim Director and Chief Curator of the Nasher Sculpture Center, expressed his excitement to showcase Yang’s works in Dallas and comments: “Haegue Yang’s work continually provides new insights into the multivalent world in which we live, reconciling past and present. (…) [Her sculptures] highlight the centrality of objects in making meaning from our diverse well of experiences.” The exhibition runs through April 27, 2025.
Over the past three decades, Yang has developed a prolific and hybrid body of work that folds quotidian objects and folk traditions into the canon of modern and contemporary sculpture-making. Informed by in-depth exploration into vernacular techniques, customs, and rituals, along with her continual movement through disparate cultures, Yang’s work is both an homage to and critique of the modernist project toward singular Western domination. The exhibition engages directly with dialectics of contrasts: of light and dark, aerial and grounded, buoyant and heavy, spare and dense, interior and exterior. Such is further witnessed in the exhibition’s presentation that brings the contrasts together in one space, as well as the displayed works that incubate the Mother Nature in their small bodies.
Presented in the exhibition is a new body of works that incorporates the architectural traits of the museum. Suspended from the ceiling is a group of sculptures titled Airborne Paper Creatures – Triple Synecology (2025), taking inspiration from centuries-old kite-making traditions across the Pan-Asian region. The work refers to the study of interactions between species that share a habitat and delicately and ethereally captures the dynamic actions taken by birds, marine animals and insects through materials such as hanji and marbled paper with a variety of embellishments. In the meantime, Mignon Votives (2025) form a small colony of pinecones and pebbles on the ground, intricately decorated with both organic and inorganic materials. This group of diminutive sculptures is seen as Yang’s attempt to interweave the natural horizontal landscape with small-scale sculptures. Lastly, the subterranean level of the museum showcases Cenote Observatory, an ensemble of seven sculptures produced since 2016. The works are either suspended or standing freely on casters, boasting voluminous and tentacled bodies replete with bushy, hairy, metallic, and woven surfaces, further creating an immersive environment.
Jed Morse, Interim Director and Chief Curator of the Nasher Sculpture Center, expressed his excitement to showcase Yang’s works in Dallas and comments: “Haegue Yang’s work continually provides new insights into the multivalent world in which we live, reconciling past and present. (…) [Her sculptures] highlight the centrality of objects in making meaning from our diverse well of experiences.” The exhibition runs through April 27, 2025.
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