CulBeat Express
2018.01.30 14:35
최주열 개인전 'Ungeziefer'@스페이스776(2/2-15)
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Ungeziefer JUYEUL CHOE
curated by Dante Bellardita-Fernandez
February 2 - 15, 2018
Space 77, Brooklyn
Opening Reception: February 2, 2018 6:00-10:00 PM
Space 776 is pleased to present the first solo show of work by South Korean born digital and fine artist Juyeul Choe curated by Dante Bellardita-Fernandez. The exhibition showcases a body of mostly acrylic works on canvas from 2016 through 2017, with a focus on Choe's larger format pieces.
The name of the show draws itself from a canonical work of Western literature and the artist's own experience in the West.
In the seminal continental work The Metamorphoses by Czech author Franz Kafka, protagonist Gregor Samsa wakes one day to find he is not himself. Something was lost in translation however, the original text used the German word "Unzegiefer" which translates as simply vermin. However, in many translations such as the English it is variously translated as insect, bug, cockroach, and beetle. Regardless of the particular animal Gregor unwittingly becomes, most only know the story insofar as his titular metamorphosis. The novel is a deeply introspective work that explores Gregor's relationship to family, friends, coworkers, society, and himself.
Artist Juyuel Choe features a short story on his website in lieu of an artist statement. This short story meditates on a inquisitive interaction between the artist and a cockroach found in his New York City apartment. Like Kafka, and his protagonist, Choe is acutely aware of the anxiety inducing ambiguity of modernity. In his saturated series of works from 2016 and 2017 titled with days of the week, Choe succeeds at rendering the immaterial yet deeply corporal feeling a single day can have. The successive days communicate our ever changing demeanor at the hands of our environment. Notably, Choe titles multiple works with the same day of the week. This leaves the audience to interpret the simultaneity of emotion and temporality of the human experience.
The opening reception for the show will be held on Friday, February 2nd, 2018 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Space 776 gallery's brick-and-mortar at 229 Central Avenue, Brooklyn. Refreshments will be served.
