K-pop singers as contemporary artists
‘Korean Eye 2020:’ features special guest artists
“Korean Eye 2020: Creativity and Daydream,” a high-profile exhibition of Korean contemporary artists, is slated to open at Lotte World Tower Mall in Seoul on June 23. This time, the exhibition has invited 24 emerging artists including Kim Eun-ha and Lee Doo-won, as well as special artists from the K-pop scene — Mino (Ohnim), Seungyoon (Yooyeon) of boy band WINNER and Super Junior-M former member Henry Lau.
Hosted by London-based Parallel Contemporary Art (PCA), “Korean Eye 2020” is part of The Global Eye Programme, an initiative offering platforms for artists around the world to help them develop their careers. Seoul is the last leg of the “Korean Eye 2020” touring exhibition, which ran in Russia and the U.K. last year. The exhibition will wrap up here on July 25.
Asked how they singled out 30 artists out of 600 applicants, Dimitri Ozerkov, one of the curators of “Korean Eye 2020” and director of contemporary art at the State Hermitage Museum in Russia, said they prioritized “uniqueness” above all.
“We were looking for artists who have unique and interesting messages for the audience,” Ozerkov said via Zoom during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. “We also wanted their works to look very different from the rest.”
The curators revealed they visited Korea and referred to a range of sources such as the internet and books to hunt for eligible artists. David Ciclitira, co-founder of PCA, added he has long been interested in K-pop and came to get hold of Mino after realizing his artistic talent through his works.
“So we first had Mino as the ambassador for our Korean Eye project last year,” he said. “And this time, we decided to engage more K-pop stars (with a knack for art) in our event.”
Ozerkov elaborated, “Korean artists including the K-pop stars often seem to express traditional art through technical means. I think this is very romantic. They seem to have a lot of freedom as well.”
In the “Korean Eye 2020” exhibition, Mino revealed to the public his painting titled “4th First Love,” among many others, in which he utilized vivid red, green and pink colors to portray a person in love. Seungyoon disclosed a series of sentimental blackand-white photos that feature a range of objects and places viewed from different perspectives. Lau also boasted his ingenuity with his abstract yet meaningful works such as “Starry.”
“As a K-pop singer, I only have about three minutes to express myself in a song and should sometimes put limits on myself,” Mino said in a statement. “Therefore, in my artwork, I strived even more to showcase myself and recount my stories… All these acts truly made me feel alive.”
Seungyoon said he was happy for the opportunity to deliver his authentic thoughts and feelings to people via his photos, while Lau said he was thrilled to display his works to the public.
“Korean Eye 2020” also offers a plethora of other compelling paintings, sculptures, installations and videos created by Korean contemporary artists, including Kim Hun-kyu’s “Don’t be afraid my love,” Oak Jung-ho’s “Freak Show” and Kang Ho-yeon’s “Anthropology.” Serenella Ciclitira, another founder of PCA and the curator of the event, said during the press conference that she hopes the exhibition could illuminate these artists.
“We also hope our exhibition could encourage people to discover the new aspects of Korean contemporary art,” she said.
“Korean Eye 2020” is open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (KST) every day. Tickets are priced at 15,000 won ($13.25) for teenagers/adults and 10,000 won for children.