Corporate entities have long promoted art through collecting, sponsorship, and more recently by incorporating art into product design and advertising. Corporations have shifted their focus from simply acquiring art to promoting it.
This article is part of a series that explores the intersection of art and business.
The first article in this series profiles exhibits at SongEun Art Space and HITE Collection, two new art spaces in the Cheongdam area. Located in southern Seoul, Cheongdam is known for its posh galleries, fashion flagship stores and restaurants.
Song Eun Art Space (118-2 Cheongdam-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul)
Song Eun ArtS pace is a modern cultural complex with an exhibition space, event hall, café and restaurant that was established by Song Eun Art and Cultural Foundation in November 2010. Following the wishes of Yoo Sung Yeon, the founder of the Samtan Corporation, Song Eun Art and Cultural Foundation has been supporting emerging Korean artists since its inception in 1989.
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Song Eun Art Space (Courtesy of Laurence Geoffreys)
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The new building, designed by Min Associates, reflects the corporation’s earnest commitment to contemporary art and culture. The new facility allows the foundation to give young artists more opportunities to show their work and provides the public greater access to the contemporary art scene.
Song Eun Art Space’s inaugural exhibit is a solo retrospective of American Pop Art icon Tom Wesselmann. Wesselmann is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated figures of the American Pop Art Movement, along with Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.
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(left) Bedroom Painting #76, 1984-93, oil on canvas on board with working tv (right) Smoker #2 (3-D), 2000, oil on cut-out aluminum, copyright 2008-2010 The Estate of Tom Wesselmann, All Rights Reserved. (Courtesy of Laurence Geoffreys)
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“Tom Wesselmann: Form, Fantasy and the Nude” is the most extensive exhibition of his work to date in Korea. It brings together a selection of major works spanning four decades. Seventeen of Wesselmann’s works from 1964 to 2004, including his iconic “Great American Nude,” will be on display until December 29.
Their second exhibition will be “Song Eun Art Awardees: 2001-2010,” featuring a selection of Song Eun Art Award-winning works.
Song Eun Art Space aims to inspire young artists, as well as the public. All exhibitions will be open to the public free of charge, with personalized docent tours. Art Space is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
For more information, please visit the official website at: www.songeunartspace.org (English).
HITE Collection (Address: 132-12 Cheongdam-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul)
Only a few steps away from Song Eun Art Space is the HITE Collection, a private art space that opened to the public last October. Its inaugural exhibition is now underway, featuring the works of two of Korea’s most renowned artists, Kwon Jin Kyu and Do Ho Suh.
Kwon Jin Kyu is regarded as a forerunner in the development of modern sculpture in Korea. The exhibition, titled “EXILE, Eternal-Internal,” presents a selection of his sculptures that reflect “a journey encompassing chaotic turmoil and a longing for salvation.”
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Kwon Jin Kyu's solo exhibition “EXILE, Eternal-Internal” (photographed by Hwang Dana)
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HITE Collection also includes important works by Do Ho Suh, one of the most internationally acclaimed Korean artists. The HITE Foundation commissioned Do Ho Suh to develop a long-term, site-specific installation for the main exhibition hall space on the ground floor.
For this commission, Suh re-created his masterpiece “Cause & Effect (2009).” This intricate web, composed of thousands of small-sized human figures, has been carefully integrated into the architectural characteristics of the space. The artwork reflects the artist’s belief that individuals are connected through an invisible and intricate web of destiny.
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Do Ho Suh, Cause & Effect, 2010, acrylic and stainless steel and aluminum frame (photographed by Hwang Dana)
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HITE Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with Korea’s leading brewing company, was established to build and maintain a seminal corporate collection of cutting-edge contemporary works. Furthermore, HITE Foundation aims to broaden its social entrepreneurship while offering free access to its collection.
HITE Collection is open Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. The inaugural exhibition runs through March 4, 2011.
For more information, please visit the official website at: www.thehite.com/hitecollection (Korean only).
By Hwang Dana
Korea.net Staff Writer
