Hedwig Gallery will present “Nowhere, Somewhere,” a two-person exhibition by Kim San and Lee Sang Heon, from Oct. 7 to Nov. 14.
The exhibition takes its starting point from the word “utopia,” derived in part from the Greek expression for “no place.” Both artists construct landscapes that appear familiar but cannot be located in the physical world.
Kim’s paintings place white deer within densely layered forests. Greens of different values and intensities are combined with leaves, moss, streams and narrow areas of light, creating natural settings that move further from observable reality as their visual density increases.
The white deer appear as temporary presences within these environments. Their pale forms contrast with the surrounding vegetation while suggesting that they may disappear back into the forest.
Lee depicts quiet night landscapes using ink and acrylic on jangji, a traditional Korean paper. Repeated lines form the sky, while gold points resemble stars above silhouettes of mountains, trees and tiled-roof houses.
Crescent moons and shooting stars introduce movement and time into the otherwise still scenes. Although the elements are recognisable, their arrangement produces a night that does not correspond to a specific place.
Together, the works examine the boundary between memory, imagination and observed landscape. Kim approaches this territory through dense vegetation and symbolic animals, while Lee uses accumulated lines, muted silhouettes and points of light.
Hedwig Gallery is located at 13, Unjung-ro 146beon-gil, Bundang District, Seongnam. It is open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sunday visits are available by reservation, and the gallery is closed on Mondays.
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Maria Kim sayart2022@gmail.com
