Opening Reception: 6-8pm, June 1st, 2016
DOOSAN Gallery Seoul: 15, Jongno 33-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea

DOOSAN Gallery Seoul is pleased to present the solo exhibition 곰염섬 [gomjumsum] by Jihyun Jung from June 1st to July 2nd, 2016. A promising new artist in contemporary art scene since 2010, Jung has received acclaim from the art world in Korea and abroad through numerous solo and group exhibitions. Jung held his solo exhibition at DOOSAN Gallery New York during his residency at DOOSAN Residency New York in 2015, and has also engaged in various art exhibitions and events in Korea and abroad including the group exhibition Unknown Packages at the Queens Museum, US, and 2016 Gwangju Biennale, Korea.

Working in interdisciplinary approach including drawing, painting, kinetic installation, sound and video, Jung’s work is a metaphor of the reckless attempts to capture contradictory situations we come across in reality, or indefinite states that exist but are not easily perceived. While many of the elements in the work are made of familiar objects commonly found in the everyday life, their combinations result in unfamiliar states that are not commonly seen in reality.

곰염섬 [gomjumsum], the title of the exhibition, does not have a special meaning in the word itself; rather, it alludes to something uncanny the audience is about to face. Jung’s work illustrates the sense of vulnerability an individual feels in the variable and ever-changing reality, and demonstrates how such states of helplessness affect and transform human life. The strange title of the exhibition reflects the methodology of Jung’s work, and functions as a mechanism through which the viewers imagine and contemplate on the hidden side of reality.

Jihyun Jung (b. 1986) received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Korea National University of Arts. He has held solo exhibitions at DOOSAN Gallery New York (2015, New York, NY, U.S.A.), Sindoh Art Space (2014, Seoul, Korea), Insa Art Space (2013, Seoul, Korea), Project Space SARUBIA (2011, Seoul, Korea) and Gallery Skape (2010, Seoul, Korea). He has also participated in group exhibitions at Queens Museum (2015, New York, NY, U.S.A.), Seoul Museum of Art (2014, Seoul, Korea), PLATEAU Samsung Museum of Art (2014, Seoul, Korea), DOOSAN Gallery Seoul/New York (2013/2014, Seoul, Korea/New York, NY, U.S.A.), Cais Gallery (2012, Seoul, Korea), and KT&G Sangsang Madang (2010, Seoul, Korea).