August 2024 Overview
Gana Art Center and the Ghana Cultural Foundation present a special exhibition to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Lee Ungno (1904-1989). Being one of the leading Korean artists of the 20th century, he is widely credited with creating a style of his own in which he has successfully merged Eastern and Western abstraction.
The show features over 100 works including paintings, sculptures, crystals and drawings. Some of his collaborations with the National Tapestry Factory of France and the National Ceramic Factory of Sèvres will also be shown. The exhibition showcases six "Olympic crystals" created in collaboration with French crystal manufacturer Baccarat. His jade sculptures, also known as "rice grass sculptures", will also be exhibited.
The human figure has been a constant subject in Lee's work. In his early days, he explored the lives of hardships that his fellow countrymen were leading at the time, later he continued to be interested in humans but explored individuals as particles of a movement and increasingly drew in more abstract styles.
Heo Young-Man's Special Invitation Exhibition "Hero of Paper, Narrative of the Comic Strip" is a commemoratio of the 50th anniversary of his debut. The artist has contributed greatly to the development of Korean comics art, manhwa, and in this special look-back show, visitors can see over 20,000 objects including draft drawings, interview cuttings, and memos.
Oh Jeisung and Shunita's latest exhibition "Goblin: Multi Persona" explores Korean folklore from a modern perspective. The focus is on goblins - mysterious, feared and awe-inspiring, these creatures are believed to be spirits originating from the soul of various objects. The origins of the goblin folk tales are unclear as much of their history is shrouded in mysticism. The conflicting accounts are the reason the artists have decided to subtitle their exhibition "Multi Persona". This also where they see the connection with modernity where people have multiple identities and can create different personas to match different social settings. As the modern human has multiple social media accounts and lives in million-people megapolises, he/she is no longer bound to a single and consistent identity. Is this freedom to choose helping us to live more content lives or is it diluting our sense of self? Do we feel empowered to create our best selves or do we feel lost in the intangibility of it all?
Song Hyun-Koo's "Hum Hum" is a collection of sculptures resembling human musical notes. The artists tries to convey the message that the secret of happiness lies in maintaining balance and personal Zen. In order for us to be able to go through life with a light heart (the feeling to which the exhibition title "Hum Hum" is a reference), we need to develop a sense of life rhythm, to dance to the tune of the Universe and accept both the ups and the downs as necessary parts of the whole process. Without downs, there will be no ups - a notion which may sound simple and obvious but at its core, is a reference to Eastern religions and philosophies.
ALL august 2024 shows
