Art shows this week

You might be thinking, “Why is there a museum for figures and figurines?” Well, many of us ‘normal’ people might be tempted to dismiss it as a place for the obsessed, but you might want to think again. Figure Museum W, located in Cheongdam-dong, is a place to either renew your love of or learn about a new potential hobby of collecting, building, and trading figure models. With a serious collection of models that range in price from the thousands to couple 100 million wons, it’s undoubtedly Seoul’s special mecca for dukhoos (people focused on a specific hobby or subject) of this sort. For those of us who consider ourselves ‘normal’, it will be an eye-opening experience in learning both the delicacies and grandiose of this art form. The 1000 or so models that are on display are all part of a private collection. The two co-owners of the museum are elementary school friends and have been avid collectors of figures and art toys for a while. They, along with two more friends, came together to create this special space within Seoul to display their belongings. Most well known animation characters from Korea, Japan and the US can be spotted here, all of which range in size. If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to stand next to Ironman and take a selfie, you’ll be able to do just that. Life-size figures include the Terminator (with the actual leather jacket Arnold Schwarzenegger wore), Ironman, Batman, Spiderman, the Hulk, and even the Joker. The most prized item, on the...

Established by multimillionaire gallerist Kim Chang-il, Arario Gallery first opened its doors in Cheonan in 2012 before moving to its current place in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul. Making The ARTnews "200 Top Collectors" list for 7 years now, the internationally respected gallery boasts three-stories of exhibition space. At times, the basement and the upper levels are separated to showcase two exhibitions with unrelated curatorial goals. Although the gallery’s main interest lies in contemporary art, it branches off to support domestic as well as international artists in their early to mid-careers.

 

How do artists deal with their limitations as human beings while at the same time, try to be gods of their own work? Works may go unsold and critics can be cruel, but the fact that their art is subject to the realities of time and the changing conventions of the art world is what really hurts. The struggle with this fate is the theme of Nam Hwa-yeon’s work in multi-media installations that deal with the human greed for control of time.   “Ghost Orchid” (video, 6min 53sec, 2015) is a video installation that makes reference to The Orchid Thief, a book popular in Belgium and England in the 1990s. The novel is based on the true story of John Laroche and other plant poachers who searched the world for rare orchids. Within Nam Hwa-yeon’s work, she expresses the human obsession with hoarding by disguising herself as a man who dances as if he were this orchid.   “The Adoration of the Magi” (video, 11min 32sec, 2015) reflects on humans as voyeurs. The work zooms in on Giotto’s painting of the Halley’s Comet. The artist observes how nature enlightened Christians of the time, putting their perspective under a scientific light.   Nam yet again attempts to control time in “Ant Time” (27.5 x 34cm, photo documentation, 2014). As a piece of thread chases after an ant’s foot prints, a tangible trace is documented. What is leftover is a remnant of time, captured and visible for the naked eye to behold.   Nam Hwa-yeon often shapes performance into two different kinds of forms: video and...