As the Sharp Narrative Fades, A Revealing Map Emerges (Part1): Alternating exhibition of Korea and France

The exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of gallerychosun and the 50th of its predecessor, Chosun Art Gallery, which hosted a French exhibition in 1983 for its 10th anniversary. Forty years later, this cultural exchange with a French institution underscores gallerychosun's influence in Korean and international art, symbolising its legacy and ongoing future through new collaborations like Le Wonder.  

Developed collaboratively, the project reexamines cultural programming, institutions, artists, and networks as social actions across two continents over 2024-2026. In 2024, gallerychosun will showcase two group exhibitions of Korean and French artists (Part 1 and 2), culminating in a joint exhibition of all eighteen participants at Le Wonder in 2026 (Part 3). 

The exhibitions, divided into three sections, will gradually expand on a central theme, exploring stages such as everyday life and art, presence and virtuality, and the alternative landscapes created through art.

‘Part 1’ presents Korean artists Ahn Sanghoon, Min Sunghong, Park Bona, and Woo Minjung, and French artists Araks Sahakyan, Collectif Grapain, Wendie Zahibo, Pablo Réol, and Yan Tomaszewski, while ‘Part 2’ features Korean artists Jeong Jeongju, Yohan Hàn, and Choe Sooryun along with Chinese artist Axl Le (based in Shanghai, represented by Gallery Chosun), and French artists Antonin Hako, Martha-Maria Le Bars, Pierre Pierre Gaignard, Elias Gama, and François Dufeil.

Established in 2004, Gallery Chosun entered the Korean market at the beginning of its recent rapid growth, with a program of resolutely experimental contemporary art. Located in downtown Seoul, neighboring many of the city’s most famous “mega galleries”, Chosun has continued to support cutting-edge and under-recognized Korean artists, and organized many important exhibitions, contributing to the development of Seoul’s burgeoning cultural reputation with its own unique sensibility.

In 2019, the gallery expanded its exhibition spaces to two floors, increasing opportunities for artists with larger, more diverse shows, while remodeling and modernizing the architectural interior into one of the most distinctive spaces of its size in the city, on a scale that has encouraged increasingly complex installations. The current exchange exhibition is an expression of the same ambitious agenda, and the first of various initiatives intended to expand the scope of its activities internationally - in this instance working to forge closer ties between French and Korean contemporary art.

‘Le Wonder’ is a non-profit, independent, artist-run space in north-east Paris which has provided affordable studios, workshops, and exhibition opportunities for talented French artists and creatives since its inception in 2011. Continuing the rich Parisian tradition of communally built, self-organized cultural organizations, ‘Le Wonder’ has also redefined the template, operating more like an art center than an alternative space, with a professional administration representing the interests of all members, while operational decisions are made collectively, by fair democratic vote.

1. THE PLANNERS

Yeo Joonsoo is the Chief Operating Officer of gallerychosun. Despite not studying gallery management, he finds himself in a position to continue his mother's gallery, which was established independently from his grandfather's Chosun Art Gallery. Amidst this, he developed a friendship with me, curator and operator of Space Willing N Dealing, and often discussed exhibition planning. In winter 2023, he asked me to help curate three upcoming exhibitions (2024-2026), as part of a cultural exchange with France featuring pre-selected artists. 

During a time when the art market was thriving, Yeo seemed to be greatly impressed by the art scene he encountered during his trip to France. While researching exhibition spaces, he discovered Le Wonder, a unique non-profit organization, which intrigued him. He organised a collaborative exhibition between Le Wonder's artists and those from gallerychosun, seeking a departure from typical commercial exhibitions. He reached out to an artist close to him who was familiar with France, and coordinated with Le Wonder after several meetings. Artists’ portfolios were exchanged between Korean and France. Due to gallerychosun's smaller size, two Seoul exhibitions featuring nine artists each were scheduled for 2024, with all artists showcasing at Le Wonder in 2026. At this stage, contemplating the content of the exhibition, he suggested I curate it.

What intrigued me was that the exhibition was arranged with key elements like artists and venues in place, but the core content and conhesion were undeveloped. The process of integrating space and artists was stagnant. My role in this exhibition was clear, and it needed a somewhat different approach. The idea of being "different" proved useful. I accepted the request and invited Yeo Joonsoo, who had made the exhibition practical, to co-plan the exhibition.

Returning to the figure of Yeo , despite his lack of educational background regarding exhibitions, he seems to be grappling with his own direction. Rough, sometimes off-course, but gradually defining his space. Having received art education since childhood, my background in art and curatorship differes from his focus on exhibition planning. His ambiguous context prompted me to reflect from a different perspective.

2. MAP

As we navigate our way on Earth, we define regions; countries, provinces, cities, neighborhoods, and depict them on maps. These divisions, appear naturally, but often artificially, reflecting political, economic, cultural, and environmental factors. They constantly change due to conflicts, agreements, and environmental influences. 

South Korea's topography, for example, has undergone dynamic changes. After 1950, it was divided into North and South Korea during the Korean war. Recently, talks have emerged about incorporating Gimpo into Seoul. Similarly, Hong Kong, formerly under British rule, was integrated into China as a Special Administrative Region in 1997. 

As of 2024, the Ukraine-Russia war has extended Seoul-Paris flights from 12 to 14 hours due to regional diversions. The direct distance is about 8,976km. Alternative transportation methods would take significantly longer. Flight distance is just one measure among many. In the internet age, information exchange is nearly instantaenous. Can physical distances, by land, sea, or information, serve as absolute criteria for retgional separation? It might even be impossible to determine and define land and existence through a map divided by a single line. 

I needed to assess whether Yeo Joonsoo's emphasis on "cultural exchange between two countries" was effectively communicated. To accurately convey "exchange", distinct entities must coexist. before examining regional cultural exchanges, I had to recognise that the exhibition I curated as a curator, and the vision Yeo Joonsoo pursued were in different states.

Searching for conditions that could connect different regions involved acknowledging the distinct roles of institutions, planners, and artists. The concept of a map came to mind. Departing from traditional exhibition methods, a new form emerged. This insight inspired the title: As the Sharp Narrative Fades, a Revealing Map Emerges. 

Given these circumstances, the exhibition required careful planning to faciliate cultural and artistic exchange between regions, ensuring mutual understanding through the works of the participating artists.

Revisiting portfolios, I selected works from each artist to be grouped into sections. These artists have shaped their fields through diverse formats and unique concepts. The exhibition's elements; planning, design, communication, photography, promotoin, distribution, will interweave flexibly, forming a unique structure for each show. This series will produce new exhibitions, texts, videos, and more, creating a dynamic map of evolving, interconnected elements. 

3. Gallery Chosun and Le Wonder

Let's revisit the exhibition process: From East Asia and Europe, we assessed the artwork travel distances, shared details about participating artists, and prepared for the event. gallerychosun and Le Wonder, each with their distinct contemporary spaces, have long been integral to this collaboration.

Since its founding in 2004, gallerychosun has showcased experimental works by Korean contemporary artists for over 20 years, establishing a unique presence in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul. Known for its innovative exhibitions and selective artist programming, it balances artist inclinations, gallerist taste, and contemporary art concepts. Since 2019, it has expanded its physical space to support broader artist participation. As it approaches its 20th anniversary in 2024, the gallery plans a major interational exchange, collaborating with guest curators to deepen its exhibition context. Its inaugural programe with Le Wonder will connect Korean and French contemporary art scenes. 

Le Wonder, established in 2011 is an artist-run space for French artists, evolving froma collective of around 70 members. Based in a former factory outside Paris, it functions as independent, experimental institution, managing operations through democratic voting and separating administration from creative activity. It offers a large, affordable spaces for interdisciplinary projects, residencies, exhibitions, seminars, and performances, fostering artistic and political experimentation and shaping the contemporary art scene.

4. THE ARTISTS

The exhibition, As the Sharp Narrative Fades, an Revealing Map Emerges, progressively reexamines, reconstructs, and explores territories, known and unknown, viewed from microscopic perspectives. It reflects the fluidity of landscapes shaped by political, economic, and environmental forces, akin to the mutable nature of maps. In art, genre boundaries blur; yesterday's realism may become abstraction. "Modernity" in art evolves through multiple perspectives, resisting definitive conclusions. This exhibition presents diverse, evolving terrains created by artists constantly seeking change and resisting fixed narratives, unveiling dynamic, skillfully drawn maps. 

Araks Sahakyan is a visual artist who engages in diverse forms of work, including marker pen drawings, performances, multimedia installations, and tapestries. Her culturally rich artworks are filled with personal trajectories, memories of family, and reflections on hybrid identities. Growing up in Armenia, a former Soviet state in the Caucasus region, the artist immigrated to the southeastern part of Spain. She became interested in art through translation, considered as a form of creative practice. Rather than directly revealing the identity issues that interest her, Sahakyan explores them through communication with others, intimate relationships between bodies, and broader issues such as violence in nature, violated bodies, environmental destruction, or the impact of war.

Pablo Réol combines images collected from public spaces in France and various regions with music and video. In this process, he seeks to understand, capture, and discover the beauty of confusing situations, vulnerable moments, intimacy, wandering, and the paradoxical closeness encountered. He often reveals the non-verbal violence and power emanating from the language of street drawings. The ironic situations depicted in his work are not vastly different from our everyday experiences. Aimed at dismantling ideological symbols that can be easily encountered everywhere, his work confronts viewers with irony that invites a gaze full of skepticism.

Collectif Grapain presents the uncertain and contradictory state of the world in crisis. Depicting a poetic and fictional outline of a dystopian future, the collective uses imagination to weave scenarios for a recoverable future. Since 2011, the group, known for their installation works using Ethernet cables, has showcased pieces where entangled remnants of preserved plastic cables resemble archaeological artifacts. Drawing inspiration from the modern zombie motif, symbolizing the world through landscapes and the dead, they consider the shape of computer data as a futuristic myth in which humanity coexists.

Wendie Zahibo uses photographic works as a metaphor to express the depth of emotion associated with the identity of being Black. Hailing from the Caribbean region with roots in the cultures of Ivory Coast and Central Africa, the artist takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the world based on her identity. Connecting her body with the universe, she aims to break down the barriers between imagination and reality, constantly seeking answers to the questions about existence. The artist combines photography and sound, exploring new experiences, chance encounters, unexpected events, and moments of astonishment in an ongoing exploration of body and soul. Using language, images, body, stage, and sound, she creates spaces of encounter.

Yan Tomaszewski is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Paris. His narrative projects combine research-based methodology with public experiments centered around sculpture and film. The video and sculpture work presented in this exhibition, The Good Breast and the Bad Breast (HD Video, 22’ 22’’, 2019), revolves around the mysterious real events surrounding a specific building called Maslon House. The narrative explores how the surrounding environment of this building influences the human psyche, investigating how architecture provides a sense of stability, protection, and comfort, and how it can play either a positive or negative role. Adopting a documentary format, the work delves into the impact of the architectural structure on the psychological well-being of individuals.