KIM YongChul

Han Seok Hyun’s work is rooted in his strong affinity with the natural world, and his awareness of current environmental issues. Han’s practice explores the intersections between contemporary art and ecological practice, and focuses on areas of human intervention in the environment; “artificial nature” traditions such as gardening and urban farming become both his subject and his media.
For REVERSE-REBIRTH, the artist intends to build a life-sized tree from scrap wood, complete with a fully-functioning irrigation system that will support an arrangement of small plant organisms. The work will reverse the typical tree-to-timber lifecycle while simultaneously echoing the human practice of inserting highly-managed scenery into urban environments.
Han Seok Hyun’s recent practice has grafted the concerns of contemporary art with the artificial garden and plant factory, both areas that prize standardization of the natural organism. He scrutinizes today’s agricultural standards, formalized by institutions such as the ISO (International Organization for Standardization). His interest in the subject is grounded in the recognition that the history of agriculture is inseparable from the history of the modern human race.
Ultimately REVERSE-REBIRTH will question what “nature” means to contemporary city dwellers, and will probe the conventions we use to control, experience and understand it.

 

 

 

HAN SeokHyun
Born in 1975, Seoul, Korea

EDUCATION
2008 Korean National University of Arts, Graduated (MFA), Seoul, Korea
2001 Hongik University, Department of Fine Art, Graduated (BFA), Seoul, Korea

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITION
2012 ‘Instant Scape’ (Space of Art, etc., Seoul, Korea)
2010 ‘Super-nature’ (Nonbat Gallery – Heyri, Gyeonggi-do, Korea)
‘Simply FRESH’ (Walsh Gallery – Chicago, USA)
2008 ‘FRESH SAVES…’ (alternative space ARTFORUM RHEE, Buchon, Korea)
2007 ‘Joy of Being Wrong’ (Gallery 175, Seoul, Korea)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITION
2015 ‘Opening Fructifying Summer’ g lounge, Seoul. Korea
2014 ‘Follow me-SeMA NANJI 8th Artists Review’(Buk Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea)
‘Reverse-Rebirth project @ Incheon, Art Plug’, Incheon, Korea
2013 ‘Who planted trees in paradise’- The National Art Studio, Changdong (Seoul, Korea)
‘I LOVE SEOUL – SeMA Buk Seoul Museum of Art Opening Show’ (Seoul, Korea)
‘Mudeungsan National forest memorial works’ (Mudeungsan, Kwangju city, Korea)
2012 ‘Peaceful Landscape’ (Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Arts, Korea)
‘Reverse&Rebirth’ (Korean Cultural Service NY, USA)
‘Art Omi 2012-Opening day’ (Art Omi, New York, USA)
2011 ‘Balance for Coexistence’ (Aram Art Gallery – Goyang, Korea)