On the Way _curated by Choi Jae hyeok
An Gyungsu paints neglected spaces and abandoned nature that can be easily found in our surroundings. Initiated with a question on the property of a landscape, the series 'On the Way' contemplates actual places, not beautiful and ideal scenery, and depicts them on a canvas from a realistic and objective perspective. The artwork is about the veiled reality of cities, and the double-sided yet temporary landscape of the suburbs of Seoul, which are neither city nor rural.
The first space of the exhibition hall shows natural objects such as trees with dead branches and withered leaves, as well as weeds and magnolia springing up and growing despite a lack of interest from those around them, while the second space exhibits old, abandoned, and shabby warehouses, containers, and immigrants’ houses. Those are the landscapes of our surroundings we pay no attention to, as well as the desolate spaces with heavy breathing, overwhelmed by anxiety. Various painting techniques like coloring, spraying, dropping, and smudging are well-blended with the time-accumulated objects on the canvas, suggesting a unique feeling of the painter’s works. In this exhibition, viewers can encounter aspects of our unstable society through the familiar landscape depicted by the artist.
