October 24, 2024
SEOUL – A photo exhibition of prominent South Korean artists opened Tuesday as part of the inaugural Gucci Cultural Month, a campaign launched by the Italian fashion house to promote the diversity and creativity of Korean culture.
“Dual Narratives: Honoring the Visionaries,” running for eight days through Tuesday, explores fresh angles to look at film director Park Chan-wook, pianist Cho Seong-jin, conceptual artist Kim Soo-ja and contemporary dancer Ahn Eun-me. Master photographer Kim Yong-ho led the project.
“The offer felt sincere,” Kim said of the Gucci overture to seek his initiative during a preopening tour at Foundry Seoul. The underground commercial gallery operates at the six-story Gucci Gaok, Gucci’s second Korean flagship in Seoul’s Hannam-dong. Gaok means a traditional home in Korean.
“It’s time to explore the other sides of towering Korean artists not only for us, but for the world when the spotlight on us is bigger than ever,” Kim added.
Kim is known for blurring the boundary between fine art and commercial photography, using a method he calls “diptych.”
Photos of film director Park Chan-wook (above) and pianist Cho Seong-jin by photographer Kim Yong-ho in the exhibition “Dual Narratives: Honoring the Visionaries” at Foundry Seoul in Hannam-dong, Seoul. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD
“It’s the juxtaposition of a pair that resembles. For example, we have a portrait of someone on one hand, and on the other, a photo of an item or object that represents the person,” Kim said.
Two photos are always better than one to capture the core of the person facing the camera, Kim said of the reason behind his method. Figures of historic significance in particular, Kim added, require more angles to look deeper into their faces.
The four Korean artists, in a sense, look like “truth seekers,” their serenity unmatched by almost none, Kim recalled of his interactions with them.
In Kim’s “An Indulgent Eye,” he juxtaposes three pairs of photos, each set carrying director Park’s face and plum blossoms — all in monochrome.
“Plum blossoms shine even in dark just as Park, a known fan of aestheticism, searches for his own salvation, and self,” one guide conveyed Kim’s intent.
The 15-photo collection “Art Nomad” uses pianist Cho’s movement through his everyday spaces to convey the toll global tours take the 30-year-old star musician. He was the first Korean to win the first prize at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, a career-paving recognition.
Cho was one of the celebrities who made an appearance at Gucci Gaok on Tuesday evening, alongside Lee Jung-jae, the star of the Netflix hit “Squid Game” and Gucci’s global brand ambassador.
Reservations for the free exhibition can be made on the Gucci website or through Naver.
Further details about the Oct. 15 – Nov. 14 Gucci Cultural Month will be rolled out soon, the fashion house said without elaborating.
