YONG R. KWON
As I meet the darkness…
Try being alone in pitch-black darkness and truly experience the darkness. On one hand, the darkness swallows everything around it until it seems there is nothing. On the other hand, objects will undoubtedly appear in the darkness.
The beginning of all was darkness. As a door is opened inside the darkness, which once revealed no hint of consciousness, an excruciating yet warming ray of light pierces the door opening. Consciousness awakens within the dark of a coma-like state. The awakening is as short and concise as a shriek.
My artwork holds light. It reflects light in ways that embody and make apparent the nature and existence of light itself. Light is scattered in a powerful yet not boisterous way. This consciousness of light and darkness allows me to experience beauty as I perceive their truth rather than illusion. My artwork, which already hints at the idea of shape, was recently introduced to the world of colors. The colors contribute strong energy and vitality. Such vibrancy is something that disappears when the light is turned off and is hence an intangible experience, as unforgettable and exhilarating as the memory of one’s first love. In the darkness we notice the light; it is something shining in the bottom of the deep sea of reminiscence. I find myself wavering unsteadily between Rembrandt’s audacity and Van Gogh’s glamorous enchantment.
EDUCATION
1992 M.F.A Department of Fine Art, Seoul National University, Korea
1989 B.F.A Department of Fine Art, Seoul National University, Korea
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 18th Solo Exhibition (Gallery AG, Seoul, Korea)
2016 The Garden of Light (Keumsan Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2011 16th Solo Exhibition (Hotel Lotte Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2006 15th Solo Exhibition (Gallery Simon, Seoul, Korea)
2004 13th Solo Exhibition (Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea)
2003 12th Solo Exhibition (Auction Art Center, Seoul, Korea)
2002 11th Solo Exhibition (Asian Live Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2002 10th Solo Exhibition (Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea)
2001 9th Solo Exhibition (Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
2000 8th Solo Exhibition (Gallery Simon, Seoul, Korea)
1998 7th Solo Exhibition (Gallery Simon, Seoul, Korea)
1995 5th Solo Exhibition (Gallery Simon, Seoul, Korea)
1993 4th Solo Exhibition (Icon Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1992 3rd Solo Exhibition (Indeco Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1990 2nd Solo Exhibition (Sonamu Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1989 1st Solo Exhibition (Yoon Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
GROUP EXHIBITION
2018 KIAF (COEX, Seoul, Korea)
2018 Art Kaohsiung (Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tiwan)
2018 London Hampstead AAF (London, U.K.)
2018 Hong Kong AAF (Hong Kong)
2018 Affordable art fair Hampstead 2018 (London, U.K.)
2018 Art New York (New York, U.S.A.)
2018 Basel Scope (Basel Swiss)
2018 Palm Beach Art Fair (Palm Beach, CA, U.S.A.)
2018 Brussels AAF (Brussels, Swiss)
2018 London Battersea Art Fair (London, U.K )
2018 The 36th Korean Galleries Art Fair (COEX Hall D, Seoul, Korea)
2017 The First Question (Artbit Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2016 AHAF Seoul- The Five Senses is a Forest (The A Space, Seoul, Korea)
2016 Prologue (640 Art Tower Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2015 Modern+ (Modernplus Gallery, Ilsan, Korea)
2015 Art & Life (Art Space Ben, Seoul, Korea)
2015 Art Kaohsiung (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
2013 Red Gate (Gallery Hogam, Seoul)
2012 Korean Contemporary Artist 20 (CheongShim Peace World Center, Gapyeong, Korea)
2012 Realistic & Reality (Tongin Aution Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2012 Moon of Mind (Superior Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2011 Asian International Art Exhibition (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea)
2011 Art Now of Asia (Jeonbuk Museum of Art, Wanju, Korea)
2011 The First Gallery in China (Beijing, China)
2011 Asian International Art Exhibition (The University City Art Museium, Guangzhou, China)
2011 Sung Nam International Art Show (Sungnam Art Center, Sungnam, Korea)
2011 Insa Art Form (Sejong Center Chamber Hall, Seoul, Korea)