``Where a Man Meets a Man in Santiago" by Oh In-hwan is part of the "Peppermint Candy" exhibit at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires, Argentina. / Courtesy of National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

Korean artists are making a splash overseas this month, with a group exhibition in Buenos Aires and two solo exhibitions by Park Seo-bo and Lee Bul in New York City.

Works of 23 contemporary Korean artists are on display at the ``Peppermint Candy'' exhibit, which opened last week at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires, Argentina. The exhibit, organized by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea runs through July 6.

The participating Korean artists were all born in the 1960s and 70s, and grew up in the 80s, a turbulent period which resulted in democracy for Korea. Visitors will be able to see how the artists interpret Korean contemporary history.

``Peppermint Candy refers to the fragile values of the youthful and pure which are fresh and pungent, yet can easily be taken away and subverted by any member of the next generation,'' the exhibition catalogue stated.

Composed of three parts, the exhibit begins with ``Made in Korea,'' which looks at the change in attitude towards ideology from the 80s to the 90s. In the 80s, Korean artists were interested in themes like the division of Korea, militarism, nationalism and capitalism.

The second part ``New Town Ghost,'' relates to the visual experience of everyday life in the city, and how it has been affected by rapid economic growth and urbanization. Finally, ``Plastic Paradise,'' shows the uniqueness of Korean popular culture, where traditional, modern and postmodern aspects collide.

Participating artists include Jeon Joon-ho, Kang Yong-suk, Gimhongsok, Bae Youngwhan, Oh In-hwan, Lim Min-ouk, Koo Sung-soo, Lee Dong-wook, Choi Jung-hwa and Hong Kyoung-tack.

Last year, ``Peppermint Candy'' was presented at Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Santiago, Chile from September 14 to November 18.

New York Exhibits

Lee Bul's latest sculptures are on display at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in Chelsea, New York, through June 14. Considered one of the leading Korean artists of her generation, Lee is presenting an installation of sculptural works as well as drawings for her debut exhibition with the gallery.

The main piece is ``Bunker ― M. Bakhtin,'' a huge, grotto-like sculpture. Visitors are invited to experience what the artist calls a ``sonic simulacrum" of historical memory from the complicated relationship between Korea and Japan.

``Situated within a mirrored environment that is at once brilliant and disorienting, `Bunker ― M.Bakhtin' is paired with an obsessively intricate structure made of glass, crystals and aluminum suspended in midair, a homage to the visionary Weimar architect Bruno Taut, whose `peculiar fusion of futurist fantasia, utopian manifesto and private obsessions,' in the artist's words, seems to preside over the exhibition as a whole,'' the gallery said.

Born in Seoul in 1964, Lee has had solo exhibitions around the world, including the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris (2007); and Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2002). Visit Lehmann Maupin Gallery / Artists.

Park Seo-bo, considered the father of Korean abstract painting, is holding a solo exhibition ``Empty the Mind,'' at the Arario New York. The exhibit, featuring Park's new works, runs through May 31.

Park is known for his innovative combination of traditional Korean sensibility with the Western abstract art movements of Minimalism, Art Informel, and Color Field painting.
``Empty the Mind'' features Park's bright colored, monochrome abstract works. Park uses a labor-intensive, multi-step process to create minimalist paintings with several layers of hanji (mulberry paper), acrylic paint and ink. Before the layers dry, the artist uses a pencil or a narrow bamboo stick to incise thin parallel lines across the entire surface.

Each painting reveals rectangular spaces strategically carved to reveal layers of colors to create what Park calls ``breathing spaces.'' Park's new works ``juxtapose pattern and emptiness, restrained form and exuberant color, with Eastern and Western aesthetics.''

This is Park's first exhibition at Arario Gallery New York. In the past 50 years, his works have been exhibited around the world. Visit ARARIO GALLERY NEW YORK.

cathy@koreatimes.co.kr