Kiwon Park (b. 1964) is an artist who has pioneered new horizons in Korean contemporary installation art by crossing genre boundaries and developing a distinctive body of work that refuses to conform to the times. His work is known for large-scale installations that reinterpret space using a variety of materials, including wire, transparent vinyl, air tubes, plastic mirrors, and oil-painted sheets.
 
Since winning the Grand Prize at the 13th Joongang Fine Arts Prize in 1990, Park has consistently presented simple and material-focused works. From the mid-1990s, he began to explore space and materials, earning recognition for his unique artistic approach that not only redefines the existence of art but also offers viewers new ways of experiencing his work.


Kiwon Park, Move, 1996 ©2004 Arts Council Korea

Kiwon Park's early work began with an interest in the materiality of painting, and was characterized by minimalist flat experiments that utilized various materials, such as plywood, to make use of the material's unique characteristics. In 1996, the artist's interest in this pure materiality began to expand into space.
 
His spatial installations start with a personal feeling for the place. In the case of Move, which was shown at Gaain Gallery in 1996, it started with the perception of a certain movement in the blank walls of the space, which was felt in the long, large surface area, even though there was nothing there.
 
As a result of thinking about how to embody this movement on the walls of the exhibition space, the artist attached thin, translucent, one-meter jade-colored FRP (a plastic mixed with polyester resin and reinforcements such as fibers) boards in a row on the walls, creating a new atmosphere without compromising the pure character of the space.

Kiwon Park, Diminish, 2005 ©313 Art Project

Translucent jade-colored boards later appeared in his work Diminish (2005), which was exhibited at the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Park transformed the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale into a sculptural object by wrapping it in translucent jade-colored boards that blended with the surrounding landscape. These boards not only enveloped the building's exterior but also guided visitors through the interior, serving as a pathway. Additionally, other participating artists' works were displayed on these boards. This installation, titled Diminish, effectively highlighted the unique characteristics of the Korean Pavilion while connecting the entire exhibition, offering a compelling glimpse into contemporary Korean art.

Kiwon Park, Light Weight, 2006 ©313 Art Project

The following year, Park presented his installation Light Weight at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. The installation focused on the materiality of space, responding to the heavy, thick walls and stone floors of the museum. Park aimed to introduce a sense of lightness within this weighty environment by applying a light, transparent gel to the walls and laying soft, similarly colored tubes on the floor. This transformed the space into a comfortable and lightweight area where visitors could lie down and relax.

Kiwon Park, Scenery, 2010 ©313 Art Project

In his solo exhibition “Who's Afraid of Museums,” Kiwon Park, who was named the Artist of the Year 2010 by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea (MMCA), presented three works, Scenery, Dim, and Air Wall, based on the space of the Gwacheon Building of the MMCA. Scenery began by closely observing and measuring the 2,000 square meter concourse space of the Gwacheon Building to capture the history of the space and its unique atmosphere.
 
The artist attached sheets of oil paint to the space one by one in order to preserve the unique structure and atmosphere of the space while transforming the material of granite, the museum's interior wall finish, into a turquoise jade stone. In this way, Park's spatial work creates a new space that is both familiar and unfamiliar, as if it belongs neither to the real nor to the unreal, with minimal intervention. The work, the space in which it is placed, and the viewer become part of the work.


Kiwon Park, Dialogue, 2022 ©Seoul Botanic Park

Park's latest work, Dialogue (2022), takes as its subject the place where the exhibition is held and the place identity. Dialogue is a reinterpretation of the place of the Seoul Botanical Park, and is inspired by the way visitors to the botanical park step on fallen leaves, inviting viewers to walk through the exhibition by stepping on the imaginary leaves piled up on the floor. As they walk over the work, which is composed of materials such as copper and brass, Park suggests that they feel their movements and listen to the sounds they make, creating an unspoken dialog with themselves.
 
Park describes his work as a “conversation with empty space.” The artist has been focusing on the history of space and its relationship with the surrounding environment, aiming to create works that “breathe with the space.” And it is only when the viewers enter and interact with the space that Kiwon Park’s work is truly complete.

“It is the space itself which I consider the most significant in my artwork. Space, instead of being set as a backdrop, is equally important as the artwork. Hence I try to establish balance between the work and the space. I want the original environment or scenery to remain as it is. I just intend to create a minimum ‘action’ – like a subtle flow of air, or a wind softly brushing over the skin without being noticed, or an irretraceable impression of a passerby.” (From the artist’s statement)

Artist Kiwon Park ©Noblesse

Kiwon Park majored in Western painting at Chungbuk National University, Department of Art Education. Park’s solo exhibitions include 313 Art Project, Seoul (2019, 2016); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon (2010); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2006); and ARKO Art Center (2006).
 
He has also participated in group exhibitions including Suwon Museum of Art Art Space Gwanggyo (2020); Cheongju Museum of Art (2019); OCI Museum (2018); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon (2016); Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul (2016); Esprit Dior, DDP, Seoul (2015); Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul (2015); Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, France (2014-15); East Side Gallery Berlin, Berlin (2014); Busan Museum of Art, Busan (2013). In 2005, he was selected as a participating artist in the Korean Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale, and in 2000, he participated in a special exhibition at the Gwangju Biennale.

References