Although Korea’s contemporary art scene started a bit later than its neighboring countries’, it has recently begun to have much popularity. A prominent theme in this type of art is the use of abstraction in the creative process paired with a minimal color palette.
Jang Yongsun is an up-and-coming artist who creates huge but intricate sculptures, inspired by cells, organic matter, black holes, and marine life.
https://www.oneart.org/yongsun-jang
Jang had been weighed down by the question that many of us have probably asked ourselves as well: who am I, where did I come from? His answer? It’s that everything starts from the smallest matter—cells—and continues to the universe.
When we look at his pieces, it’s no surprise that his belief comes to play in his art. His sculptures are made with thin, metal pipes cut to mimic small molecules of organic beings. Metaphorically, they represent the beginning moments of birth. This can be seen when light is shone on top of his sculptures and the particles become a nest that holds light and life.
Particle SN120429
https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Particle-SN120429/341795/195637/view
Life, birth, nature, and light are all important subjects to Jang. He’s not limited to a specific material or constrained by anything. As an artist, Jang brings attention to things that have not received attention and gives the audience the opportunity to think. It’s impossible to ignore the artist’s thought process and symbolism behind each of his pieces. Many of his works have a special, personal story behind them.
For example, Jang’s family runs a seolleongtang (ox bone soup) restaurant, and his mother sent some to him and his colleagues to eat. This simple act had apparently impacted Yongsun deeply and made him use eaten and discarded cow bones.
“자연에서 자유롭게 살던 소들이 인간에 의해 삶의 터전에서 밀려나 가축이라는 명목 아래 정해진 공간에 가두어졌고 역시 인간에게 온전히 바쳐져 결국 먹고 남은 뼈로 존재하게 됐다.”
“Cows, who lived freely in nature, were driven out of their homes by humans and confined in designated spaces under the pretext of being livestock. They were also completely sacrificed to humans and ended up existing as leftover bones.” (link)
Work made from roasted beef bones
https://www.oneart.org/yongsun-jang
Artist Jang Yongsun continues to do installations with metal pipes, cow bones, and foxtails and creates artwork that gives insight to himself as an artist and his beliefs.
Jang Yungsun in his studio
https://www.igimpo.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=62092