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SOLO EXHIBITION

SHIM MOON-SEUP

 

The Landscapes of Time

Singapore Space

September 26 – October 26, 2024

CURATED BY Yonni Park, Jeeeun Hong

Press

Tang Contemporary Art Singapore is pleased to announce The Landscapes of Time, a major retrospective solo exhibition showcasing the works of Shim Moon-Seup from 2012 to 2024. This significant event not only marks Shim’s debut at Tang Contemporary Art but also offers a comprehensive look at his artistic evolution over the past decade.

Featuring more than 30 canvas works, this expansive showcase serves as a pivotal moment in Shim’s career, providing a reflective journey through his most impactful creations and illuminating the creative processes and thematic explorations that have shaped his unique practice. The exhibition will highlight paintings that express a deep reverence for nature and its cycles. Shim’s work explores the interplay of blue hues that evoke the texture of the sea, capturing the inherent qualities of materials and their relationship with the viewer. Central to his artistic practice are the themes of nature and temporality, which he employs as core elements.

 

“My center is always in the sea”

- SHIM Moon-Seup

 

For Shim, the subject of the sea holds great significance, profoundly shaping his artistic expression. Growing up in the southern coastal city of Tongyeong, he developed a deep connection with nature. This early exposure has influenced his perspective on how artists can reinterpret and ‘re-present’ the world.

Regarding the role of the artist in the human-nature relationship, he believes one of the key responsibilities of contemporary artists is to make nature visible as a living entity.

Shim often seeks different feelings and expressions by applying bright colours to the canvas before going over them with dark paints. The juxtaposition of darkness and light, horizontals and verticals, and the ebb and flow of elements do not oppose one another; rather, they reflect a cycle of erasure and rebirth, much like nature itself. He delivers this dynamic on his canvas by creating a balanced state and layering his performative time in an abstract manner. Rather than focusing on the composition of the canvas on the surface, Shim focuses on the materiality of the canvas itself. His pursuit of new art forms and experimental approaches has become an important influence on many young Korean artists today.

 

“Shim’s pieces about time are invisible, abstract and poetic. To explain further, Shim displays the abstract coalescence of performative time.”

– Chinese art critic Huang Du

 

“The combination of large-format works, in which viewers can immerse themselves, and simple compositions based on identical, repeated gestures suggests the existence of a space beyond the canvas.”

– Greek visual artist Dimitris Lempesis

Works

EXHIBITING WORKS

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 117 x 91 cm 2019

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 91 x 117 cm 2022

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 117 x 80 cm 2019

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 117 x 80 cm 2017

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 117 x 81 cm 2023

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 117 x 81 cm 2023

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 162 x 130 cm 2023

The Presentation Acrylic on paper 42 x 324 cm 2016

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 162 x 130 cm 2022

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 192 x 112 cm 2024

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 162 x 130 cm 2019

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 162 x 112 cm 2012

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 162 x 112 cm 2022

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 160 x 160 cm 2023

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 112 x 194 cm 2024

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 112 x 162 cm 2024

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 162 x 112 cm 2022

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 194 x 112 cm 2012

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 100 x 300 cm 2016

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 194 x 112 cm 2019

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 130 x 194 cm 2023

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 181 x 227 cm 2024

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 227 x 162 cm 2023

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 260 x 582 cm (130 x 194 cm each) 2015

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 45.5 x 53 cm 2014

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 53 x 40.9 cm 2017

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 72.7 x 90.9 cm 2014

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 53 x 72.7 cm 2017

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 65.1 x 53 cm 2014

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 72.7 x 100 cm 2017

The Presentation Acrylic on canvas 80 x 130 cm 2017

Artist
Artists
A05_SHIM Moon-Seup_Portrait.jpg

Shim Moon-Seup

b.1942, Tongyeong, Korea

Lives and works in Korea

Shim Moon-Seup (b.1943), the pioneer of modern sculpture in Korea, utilizes ‘nature’ and ‘temporality’ as the core element of his works and continuously strives to pursue the quest for how to perceive and express his themes with the infinite possibilities of arts beyond the standardized genres and media. Being recognized overseas as well, he received France Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Grade Chevalier) in 2007 and the Excellence Award from the 2nd Henry Moore Grand Prize Exhibition in 1981.

He has had solo exhibitions in major venues including Gyeongnam Art Museum, Korea (2023); Yuan Art Museum, Beijing (2018); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea (2017); Palais Royal, Paris (2007); Fondazione Mudima, Milano (2001) and Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo (1999). His work has also been featured in international biennials and group exhibitions, such as Tail of Tiger: ’95 Venice Korea Contemporary Art 15 People Exhibition, Venice Biennale, Venice (1995); the 1st Seoul Olympics International Sculpture Symposium, Seoul Olympics Sculpture Park, Seoul (1987); the 13th Sao Paulo Biennial (1975) and the Biennale de Paris (1971, 1973, and 1975). His works are included in the collections of major art institutions, such as the MMCA, Korea; Seoul Museum of Art, Korea; Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul; Hakone Sculpture Park, Japan and FNAC, Paris.

The artist participated in the recent group exhibition, Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s- 1970s, held at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul, Korea in 2023. The exhibition travelled to Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and is currently on view until January 2024.

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