The 80th ARTCaffè hosted Jong Oh in person in Seoul and online in Zoom, connecting from 6 different Countries.
Jong introduced us to a list of his works from graduate school to recent works, sharing the process of how space integrated and influenced his sculptures.
Neither photographs nor descriptive language do much to clarify the spatial complexity of Oh’s installations, which appear to move abruptly between visibility and invisibility. The pieces are best experienced in person, within the installation space. In his words, "I think my work is more like a drawing from the distance. If you get closer, and you spend time, it looks like a sculptural work."
Oh manipulates simple elements such as thread, graphite, wood, pegs, weights and acrylic sheets to generate subtle compositions that are finely calibrated to stay in balance. The punctual lighting and the shadows that arise from these materials are essential to completing the work. Oh’s work invites the viewer to reflect on the limits of perception and about the multiplicity of the spatial and temporal dimensions that come together to shape our experience of “reality.”
"I make mostly installations that respond to the site. And I make site-responsive work because space is my biggest inspiration. It is also part of my material; it's involved in the entire process of making art. So I always carefully listen to the space and see what the space allows me to do. I just don't make whatever I want. It is important for me to not dominate the space and find the balance, so my work and the space become one." - Jong Oh
Photo credit: Stone Kim (Instagram @stoney_kim)
