2019 Journey through Art-2, Summer Project

PAPER SHOCK

 July 19, - September 1, 2019

The trait of Paper through Paper Art

The Aesthetic of Paper Art as an Excellent Medium with Infinite Possibilities

The Ultimate Expression of Imagination and Creativity

Yangpyeong Art Museum opens the Summer Project, the second in the series Journey through Art 2 with the theme “paper shock.”

The exhibition examines the diversity of paper in the global era and introduces paper not only as an excellent medium for fine art but also its applicability. The figurative aura of paper art can go beyond our imagination as it claims a truly impressive world of art

with an entirely different context that ranges from painting to sculpture.

Yangpyeong Art Museum opens “Exhibition Paper Shock,” the Summer Project of the 2019 Journey through Art 2. The exhibition, which runs from July 19 through September 1, features a uniquely creative world of paper art through a wide variety of novel artworks made of paper by contemporary paper artists who are active in Korea and abroad. The impressive works will offer inspiration to visitors enjoying the summer vacation season in Yangpyeong. Among the annual programs, the Summer Project is a special program planned by Yangpyeong Art Museum for vacationers enjoying the season and the resort town of Yangpyeong. We at the museum hope a unique collection of highly imaginative paper artworks will inspire the visitors’ views of contemporary art.

Amidst the trend of modern art today, “Exhibition Paper Shock” is Korea’s first attempt at showing a concept of environmentally-friendly art through contemporary artworks made of paper. The museum conceived and planned the exhibition in 2018, spending over four months carefully selecting works by paper artists who were active in Korea and abroad. Putting aside the preconception and concerns about artworks made of paper, the Exhibition Paper Shock will attract viewers with imagination and creativity as they immerse themselves in the works of paper artists who transcended their novel ideas to art. It is also noteworthy that the majority of the material used for the artworks is “hanji,” or Korean rice paper, made from locally produced and processed mulberry tree.

For the exhibition, the curators of Yangpyeong Art Museum visited several regions in Korea famous for Korean paper production, such as Wonju and Jeonju. They observed how pure Korean rice paper was created and recorded their feedback, which were incorporated into the preparation for the show. The Paper Shock Exhibition starts at the first floor, which shows the history and production process of Korean rice paper along with a video footage. This feature will help visitors rethink about the history, excellence, and value of hanji, while helping bring public attention to Yangpyeong Art Museum with its renewed value and status.

Each museum space has been thoughtfully designed to showcase simple yet stunning paper artworks based on the production concept, while a soft fusion of texture and image of Korean rice paper added overall depth to the display. Making up the largest portion of the contemporary paper artworks is the works which artists made with special techniques that enhanced the durability of paper in hundreds of varieties. The artworks are the result of persevering experimentation by paper artists who hand-cut, rolled, twisted, or assembled varieties of processed paper, making it not only durable but fantastic.

The exhibition is divided by theme. The first section on the ground floor titled “The Birth of Paper” highlights the papermaking processes wherein the entire process of Korean rice paper, from the time the mulberry tree bark is cut, to how it is hand-crafted into paper, and finally, how it is used. The sloped area displays eye-catching installation works of novelty, proving the infinite possibilities of paper beyond the limit of figurative art. The second floor is a space showing new-concept paper sculptures which combine the two-dimensional property of paper and / or three-dimensional objects made of paper ? from simple drawings to formative arts to various works of collage highlighting the figurative aspect of artworks.

The Exhibition Hall 2 on the second floor is titled “Imagining Paper.” Here, the works seem to go beyond paper art forms as they provoke a question of where the limit of paper might be. This section displays Korea’s finest paper sculptures imbued with imagination and creativity. Through repetitive experiments based on imagination and technology, the artists aimed to embrace the message of new conceptual art fitting the technology-savvy era where paper has evolved to become a work of art. The paper artworks displayed in the Exhibition Hall 3 on the second floor are video or installation works. This is the climax of the show, or the namesake “Paper Shock” itself, as works made of pure Korean paper allow viewers to cross between reality and dreams, a shock via the powerful mood of fantasia.

To more effectively deliver the mysterious feeling of the Exhibition Paper Shock, Yangpyeong Art Museum aimed to expand the exhibition halls into a unique space where nature and man’s bondage of life could be filtered by juxtaposing the video hall with two-dimensional drawings, or the visual works embracing man’s basic anguish. The installations also comprised of notable works with novel ideas focusing on psychological disseminations of the expression culture by introducing methods of establishing nature-friendly materials and their adaptation. In addition to the Exhibition Paper Shock, the museum also opens “Outdoor Installation Art Exhibition-1: Exhibition Perfume” and invites visitors to the Exhibition Paper Shock to carry on the spirit of art and enjoy additional installation works by modern sculptures displayed outdoors.

From August 1 to 3, Yangpyeong Art Museum will open a project titled “Art Museum Happening,” one of the 2019 Local Community Specialty Programs designated by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, through which local artists create artworks with youths. During this period, the museum operates a program “Imaginative Playground Made of Paper,” part of Children’s Art School taking place on Saturdays and Sundays, designed to nurture imagination and creativity in children.

Department of Curators

Yangpyeong Art Museum