Chung Seoyoung

Ability vs Invisibility

Tina Kim Gallery

New York, 525 West 21st Street

Chung Seoyoung is a relatively new name for New York gallery goers, although the South Korean artist has been a household name in her hometown for decades. Known for her subversive three dimensional works that problematize the rituals and monotony of everyday environments, Seoyoung intervenes into the equilibrium dictated by generic aesthetic and mundane principles. Tina Kim Gallery’s Ability vs Invisibility, which is her first solo exhibition in New York, offers a broad exposure to the artist’s exquisite oeuvre in which she places common objects into uncommon narratives. 

Chung Seoyoung, East West South North, 2007 Steel, wheels Courtesy of the Artist and Tina Kim Gallery

While Seoyoung particularly experimented with sound and video throughout the 2000s, her most iconic works are her sculptures that carry architectural and utilitarian elements. Our association with their familiar and commercial aesthetic triggers affinity and appreciation for their existence; however, the artist’s distortion of their physical attributes breaks this domestic aura. Seoyoung, who participated in the 50th Venice Biennale and the 7th Gwangju Biennale, spent seven years in Germany before returning to South Korea in the ‘90s to join a group of artists who played key role in the development of contemporary art in the country. 

Chung Seoyoung: Ability vs Invisibility runs through April 15th at Tina Kim Gallery