The Rhythm of Life - the invisible meaning net

 Bahk, Jung-Goo(Callery Yian curator)

If the form itself is not the theme of artworks, any kinds of art may be related to the problem of human life and, by extension, to the essential problem, life itself. Without confining to the theme, artist can embody the traces of his own life in the artworks. We can name them arts.

Shin, Jung-Deok has consistently dealt with 'forming of life' until his 18th solo exhibition. The recent proposition <the rhythm of life> as well as his works show such a interest directly and intensively.

The technique of forming his interest has changed a lot from the first solo exhibition through twenty years to this time past. It proves that he has scrutinized the coherent theme seriously for a long time. Furthermore, it means that he has took a sharp lookout for common temptation to commercialize himself by settling his works in formal variation.

The artist uses the slices of Chinese quince to construct his picture plane, He arranges to overlap thin slices on the picture plane at random and then adds colors on the plane constituted by combination of slices to erase or show them again. The characteristic of the previous works is the variation of strokes and colors to blur homogeneity boundary and thickness of color planes. His works consequently give us 'picturesque' impression. However, the most evident change is the decrease of painterly expressivity, that is, of the effect of brushes and paints. Now, the picture plane is flattened by combination of some homogeneous colors with irregularity and repeat. 1 think this is the crucial change to distinguish from previous works.

Such formative changes also contain traces of his cognitive changes on the life. It seems that his recognition about life is distancing from the so-called modernistic standpoint. This word includes the artist's own recognition about intrinsic nature of painting, furthermore, about formation.

Although based on the Western formative principle and aesthetics, some of last generation in our painting world were trying to find out the spiritual and aesthetic basis of their practical works on the Oriental one. The jury is still out on whether it is persuasive and self-consistent. On the other hand, we can be aware of that the thinking paradigm not only of arts but also of culture and this age is not that of old times any more.

The start point of the change is different from ambiguous position that I mentioned above.I mentioned above.

The artist seems realize that there's a theme and form of his works on the conversion of such a thinking paradigm and the sharpest edge of the conversion. And he also appears to consistently concentrate his all energies to the Oriental principles and theories to explain unstable and chaotic phenomenon like planet located on the verge of dramatic space creating new galaxy with collision of two spiral galaxy. He observes karma in the chaotic attribution of material that can't have definite value only as the waves or particles. These observation is one of such visions result to see the meaning net and energy from life creating the combination of material.

Slices of Chines quince become the signigicant means to form such a thought. However they are cut, each slice contains part of original Chinese quince's shape. The original form of Chinese quince is omnipresent in the every single slice. The life as the shape of Chinese has an encounter with another karma, the knife of the artist by net of old karma. And each slice make karma to cleate new form. The annihilation of original form gives birth to another form. For him, life is the mere physical combination of separable materials like a corpuscle.

Naturally, the new forms created by such an attitude are far from intention or artificiality. They already exist in the connection net related to separate and potential structure. The artist makes the new forms of as something self-sufficient and autonomous. The working process is the creation process through the interaction with materials. that is, through forming of new meaning net. We can confirm or read the potential form in front of picture plane. Such an interaction means that the living creature as I'can meet the new possibility and energy of the plane to consist of the material.

 Recent works erased the pictorial effect of previous ones suggest the very crucial changes, which derives from the artist's own firmer faith. It can be said to that the pictorial effect comes from the formative taste or symbolize the invisible meaning net or karma among the materials.

Anyway, each slice comes to more autonomously form the inter-relationship as the more individual sign. It means he is free from forming the meaning of picture plane in the respect of that the artist himself gives the form to them. He may reflects deeper generosity and transcendence on the object and material. More free piece planes can suggest another possibility with autonomy and be visualize on the picture plane with great depth and solidity. The rhythm of life is self-sufficient as such.    

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