Yoon, Hae-Jin

http://www.haejinyoon.com/

I can't remember how I found out about Hae-Jin. Who care's check her paintings out at the site above. She lives in Brooklyn...I think. But she is Korean. Some of her stuff is much like Reverend Howard Finster's (1916-2001) work, which I have a deep affection for. Whatever. The energy is similar. Simple but very much there.

Song Min Gyu (AKA Song Ho-Eun)

I picked up a free catalog at Art space Hue, which featured the artist Song Min Gyu (AKA Song Ho-Eun). His? Her paintings look a lot like Ed Ruscha, but I like Min's sh** way better. Mostly Min depicts landscapes in a flat cartoonish way. “I can do it” features a brick wall with the words “I can do it.” at the bottom. I love the emptiness of the paintings. A bad emptiness like the blues or the American suburban landscapes. The grey world of work and then going home to a house in the suburbs where things are suppose to be better but there not there worse. I think these paintings emulate that life style where everyone is caught in this grey zone of average everything. There are two websites on the catalog www.seouldrawing.com and www.galleryking.co.kr

Sang Sang Ma Dang- Hongdae

Across the street from art hue is Sang Sang Ma Dang. Its one of those buildings where the architect got paid a lot of money. I think its three or four levels. The first level has a shop that sells cute non-functional items for way to much money. There were lots of people around for the Micheal Jackson exhibit (more on that later). The second floor had a collaboration between various products and artists. I'm not sure how putting a Nike bag next to a painting is a collaboration but what the hell. Nike looks way cooler and people actually see the artists work, so everyone wins. There were a few really cool artist's paintings which I got some photos of. Some of the art was just over done pop. Like skulls and stuff. But even that was OK. Yes it is worth checking out. The website on the flyer is www.sangsangmadang.com Tel: 02-330-6225. They also have a few books you can buy along with stickers. The next level was the Micheal Jackson Exhibit to remember him. The tiny figures were cool but most of the art work was horrible. Unless your a huge fan don't waste your time. I got stopped by two Micheal Jackson fans. Weird. There were a lot of people there which I thought was weird. I enjoy Michel Jackson's music especially his first solo record and his early 90s stuff. But I didn't see point to the the whole exhibit thing. However if Robert Pollard (Guided by voices singer) died tomorrow I'd be at his exhibit in a heartbeat. It seems like more people care about him now because he's gone. What's funny is he only put out six albums or something like that. But hey, he did have the smooth criminal dance (the actual mechanics of the stage performance was patented).

Art Space Hue-Hongdae,Seoul

I then headed for Art Space Hue in Hongdae. There web site is www.artspacehue.com . It's located on Picasso street. I recommend you print out a map before you go to all these places. It's Seoul you'll get lost. But that's half the fun right. The space is small and nobody is around. Which is nice. The gallery featured sculpture made from what looked liked old trophies. It reminded me of being a kid and getting a trophy at the end of the soccer season. It's a place worth checking out.

Alt Space Loop- Hongdae

Forget building 63. Don't go there. You should go to Alt Space Loop located in Hongdae. http://www.galleryloop.com/ You'll find gallery hours and contact information on their web site. No cover charge! It's hard to find but when I was nearby I called the gallery and a person from the staff helped me find it. She speaks perfect English! The people are friendly who work there. The gallery houses a cafe and library. If your in the area be sure to stop by you won't be disappointed. The building itself is worth seeing. The art work is some of the best I've seen in Seoul. They have paintings, video art and they have performances. I'm not sure if the they are new artists or established. The paintings in the basement are awesome. Most of the artist were in there 20s and 30s at Alt Space. One of my favorite pieces was the one with the little monkeys. The library itself has a wonderful collection of art books. I thought it was funny that they had the book Generation X. Lots of books in English. In the Library area they have some video art and videos of performance art. Skip Building 63 unless you want to pay 13 bucks for a nice view. Go to Alt Space if you want to experience some Korean art. I hope they don't mind that I took these photos.

Building 63

On Sunday I finally made it down to Building 63 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/63_Building. It's worth it but it is little over priced at 13,000 won (13 dollars US). 30,000 won if you want to see the aquarium also. There are a few restaurants on the bottom floor. The gallery had some photographs by Korean photographers. Mostly landscapes which I really enjoyed however all of them had a plexiglass cover. The gallery is situated on the top floor and the windows have no blinds, so the glare was horrible. My suggestion is to go on a cloudy day if you want to a better experience. The photographs themselves were really nice. Mostly because of the shear size. We look at photos all day that are magazine size so a 4 ft x 4 ft packs a punch. Since many of the pieces were pictures of Korean landscapes I appreciated them more. I am in Seoul a lot now days and I'm always looking out the window of the subway and thinking “That would make a great photograph.” It was a joy to see a Koreans take on the landscape. Some of the stuff was a lot like Gursky. In fact I thought a few pieces were Gursky when I first saw them. I really dig Gursky, even Gursky rip offs.

I took a few really horrible photos. And no you can't take photos.

Tsunami art gallery in Iteawon

I was searching for an art gallery located in Iteawon called ATELIER 54 http://www.artinasia.com/galleryDetail.php?catID=6&galleryID=1739, which I found on a this site http://www.artinasia.com/home.php. The gallery's website was down however there was a map to this gallery called Tsunami. It's easy to get to you come out of the subway exit and there is a Coffee Bean on the corner. If you are walking out of the coffee bean you will go left for a half a block. It's on your left above an antique place. I went on Saturday at 12:30pm and it was closed. I am unable to find any information on the hours of operation. So if you know anything please post. Also I am searching for any new Korean artists and galleries if you know of any please post their website.