*Due to the overwhelming interest from our audience, off-site has been extended until December 14!

Art Sonje Center is delighted to announce off-site a group exhibition of six emerging artists/teams, taking place within the unconventional non-white cube spaces of Art Sonje Center. From August 18 to October 8, visitors are welcome to explore a spatial transformation through artistic experimentations.

The participating artists/team including GRAYCODE, jiiiiin, Jong Oh, Yona Lee, Choi Goen, Hyun Nahm, Jungyoon Hyen have utilized the functional spaces of the museum-including the theater, the backstage area, dressing room, garden, stairways, the mechanical rooms, and the rooftop−as both exhibition sites and materials for experimentation, pushing the boundaries of their sculptural languages and artistic practices both within and beyond the museum’s confines.

off-site  is closely intertwined with the legacy of Art Sonje Center, tracing back to the site-specific exhibition Ssak, which took place before the construction of the museum’s building in 1995. In Ssak, seventeen artists, including Nak Beom Kho, Sunghun Kong, Wooil Kim, Yousun Kim, Mo Bahc (aka Bahc Yiso), Soyoung Park, Youngsook Park, Ahn Kyuchul, Hein-kuhn Oh, Yook Keun-Byung, Suknam Yun, Dongi Lee, Lee Bul, Keumhwa Choi, Sunmyong Choi, Choi Jeong Hwa, and Sung Min Hong, responded to the spatial dynamics of that era, sparking new forms of communication and multiple networks that transcended traditional artist-viewer interactions. It reflected the contemporary condition where the concept of “place” was reshaped by globalization and digitization while also highlighting the contemporary drive to capture a period of rapid modernization in Korea through physical spaces.

The history of Art Sonje Center, rooted in Ssak, has since expanded through various “off-Site” exhibitions, introducing sculptural works to spaces beyond traditional exhibition halls, especially functional areas. These endeavors continually question how contemporary spatial and temporal conditions, which form the foundation for all our sensory perceptions, thoughts, and modes of communication, are evolving.

off-site invites visitors to explore contemporary artists’ fresh perspectives on the tangible and intangible aspects, as well as the phenomena and perceptions that shape our spatial experiences. Within Art Sonje Center’s structure, featuring towering galleries and multifaceted exhibition spaces, artists like Hyun Nahm ingeniously transform the machinery room, intertwining sculptures with pipes and ducts. Yona Lee’s installation mirrors the functionality of fountains in the museum’s Inner Garden. Jong Oh reimagines the staircase with hanging LED sculptures, while Choi Goeun converts concealed industrial pipes into Rooftop Garden sculptures. In the Art Hall’s backstage and dressing rooms, Jungyoon Hyen strategically places sculptures, evoking actors preparing for a theatrical performance, while GRAYCODE, jiiiiin captivates with media works on the opposite side of the Art Hall stage, exploring invisible phenomena beyond our universe’s boundaries. To enhance visitors’ experience, an archive space has been thoughtfully established in the basement floor 1 (B1) corridor, where individuals can access materials and interview videos featuring the artists.

This exhibition also distinguishes itself in terms of the viewer’s experience. Visitors are encouraged to follow a guided route outlined on a map provided at the information desk, leading them to explore both the indoor and outdoor spaces of the museum. As they navigate through usually off-limits areas like dressing rooms, backstage, and machinery rooms, “off-site” stickers placed throughout the building serve as helpful guides to locate the artworks. If these stickers are visible in your surroundings, you are on the right path to discovering the artwork. For those seeking to find Hyun Nahm’s latest work, which is not explicitly marked on the map, hints can be obtained from the two machinery rooms. The exhibition encourages viewers to actively explore and navigate the various corners of the museum, offering a fresh and interactive way to experience Art Sonje Center’s building.

off-site is supported by Korea Arts Management Service and is free of charge. The exhibition will continue until October 8, 2023.

GRAYCODE, jiiiiin (b. 1984, b. 1988)
GRAYCODE, jiiiiin is an artistic group known for their expertise in electroacoustic music composition. Employing the subtle nuances of sound vibrations, pressure dynamics, and musical tension, they craft captivating works that transform the invisible realm of sound into a tangible and immersive reality. In 2021, GRAYCODE, jiiiiin showcased a solo exhibition at Sejong Museum, and the accompanying publication was selected as ‘2021 Best Book Design from Republic of Korea’. The group has presented their works through exhibitions and performances at notable sites including the Nam June Paik Art Center (2022), Project Space SARUBIA (2020), The Korean Cultural Center in Germany (2019), and Lunchmeat Festival (2018). In 2018, GRAYCODE, jiiiiin received the esteemed ‘Giga-Hertz Production Prize’ from ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Jong Oh (b. 1981)
Jong Oh utilizes simple linear materials, including threads, wood sticks, metal rods, pencil lines, and thin lighting structures, to create installations that directly interact with architectural elements. By skillfully manipulating gravity, light, and shadows, Oh constructs visually captivating installations that establish a harmonious relationship between form and environment. The size, shape, and boundaries of each artwork are determined by the space in which it resides, and the construction process is executed with precision within these inherent limitations. Oh’s artistic prowess has been showcased in solo exhibitions including First Echo (One And J Gallery, 2022), Double Sided (CR Collective, 2022), A Pause On The Arc (Doosan Gallery, 2021) and Corner Dialogue (Seoul Museum of Art, 2018). He has also made significant contributions to group exhibitions, including A Place Between Rhythm And Rhythm (Choi Man Lin Museum, 2023), Hare Way Object (Deoksugung Palace, 2020), Songeun Art Award (Song Eun Art Space, 2020), Geometry Beyond Simplicity (Museum San, 2019) and Point Counter Point (Art Sonje Center, 2018).

Yona Lee (b. 1986)
Yona Lee is an artist who makes sculptures that combine structures of stainless steel tubing with everyday materials of urban and domestic spaces. Her work ranges in scale from tabletop objects to installations that occupy entire buildings and interior architecture. Lee’s work has recently been the subject of solo museum exhibitions at the Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand (2022); Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (2018-2019); City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (2018-2019); and Dunedin Public Art Gallery, New Zealand (2020). Her work has been featured in large-scale thematic exhibitions including the Busan Biennale, South Korea (2020); 15th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art, France (2019); and Changwon Sculpture Biennale, South Korea (2016).

Choi Goen (b. 1985)
Choi Goen is an artist who engages in a profound exploration of unfamiliar materials, which she carefully observes in her daily experiences, pondering how these materials can be transformed into sculptural works. By skillfully bending and cutting pipes that were once integrated into buildings, Choi transcends their original purpose and turns them into sculptural lines. Her artistic creations take on a dual nature, becoming both sculptures in their own right and verbs that animate the artistic process. In 2016, Choi held her first solo exhibition Torso at Kim Chong Yung Museum. Since then, she has showcased her works in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Seoul, including Cornering (Amado Art Space, 2022), Vivid Cuts (P21, 2021), and Orange Podium (Audio Visual Pavilion, 2018).

Hyun Nahm (b. 1990)
Hyun Nahm’s employs the methodology of “miniascape縮景”, condensing and compressing the world we encounter today into small objects. This process involves pushing the boundaries of diverse modern and industrial materials to their limits while translating contemporary social phenomena and structures into tangible sculptural techniques. His solo exhibitions include Burrowing at the Bottom of a Rainbow (Atelier Hermès, Seoul, 2021), My Early Adulthood Pilgrimage Is Wrong, as I Expected (Instant Roof, Seoul, 2021), and Miniascape Theory (Art Space Hyeong & Shift, 2020). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including Busan Biennale 2022, Cloud Walkers (Leeum Museum, 2022), OPENING CEREMONY (YPC Space, 2022), Two Tu (P21 & Whistle, 2022), and 3X3 (Audio Visual Pavilion, 2018).

Jungyoon Hyen (b. 1990)
Jungyoon Hyen derives inspiration from the interactions and unseen forces within spaces that shape the lives of beings. The artist utilizes sculpture as a medium to convey the desires, emotions, or intensions of the body, either by infusing it with a particular attitude or by revealing the inherent qualities of the sculpture itself. By carefully considering the placement of the sculptures in spaces, Hyen stimulates the viewers’ imagination, offering them the opportunity to envision potential actions and experiences that the sculptures may embody. Her solo exhibitions include See you down the road (Factory2, 2021), I swim to cry (Songeun Art Cube, 2020), and You Again (OS, 2019). She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions such as SUMMER LOVE 2022 (SONGEUN, 2022), MMCA Young Korean Artists 2021, (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), Gwacheon, 2021), and also took part in many residencies such as SFAC Seoul Art Space Geumcheon (2022) and MMCA Goyang Residency (2021).

Artists in Conversation
• Dates and Participants
– Wed. August 30, 2023. 16:00
Artist: Yona Lee, Jungyoon Hyen / Moderator: Ahn So Yeon
– Thu. September 14, 2023. 16:00
Artist: GRAYCODE, jiiiiin / Moderator: Namsee Kim
– Thu. September 21, 2023. 16:00
Artist: Jong Oh, Choi Goen, Hyun Nahm / Moderator: Hanbum Lee
• Venue: The Ground-L, Art Sonje Center
• Admission: Free

Docent Program
• Dates: September 1–10, 2023 KR 14:00, 16:00 / EN 17:00
• Duration: 50 min.
• How to book: Online or on-site reservations
• Admission: Free