From August 29 through September 28, GALLERY HYUNDAI is pleased to announce His niche, a solo exhibition by JEON Joonho. JEON has been continuously attracting attention from the international art sphere through his unique interpretation of the socio-political environment of his country, Korea. Although the dominant narrative of his work is based on the Korean society, the multi-layered reality he depicts remains universal at its core with his commentary on the general conditions of human beings. Moreover, with his refined expertise in creating images using different media, he is more than unique in regard to his artistic depth and technical virtuosity.

In the current exhibition, the artist does not delve into social issues but rather inquires about the fundamental issues of human existentiality and the essence of arts. Through the questions suggested by the artist, audiences are not only drawn to rethink about art, but also about the man-made myths surrounding the history of the world. JEON approaches to the nature of the discourse about living in the age of myth through sculpture, installation, video, and a novel. The title of the exhibition, His niche, implies the artist himself and the audience who caught in between the reality and the ideal as well as the truth and the myth. The current exhibition features The Last Master, a work comprised of a wooden carving, mirror installation, and a novel written by the artist to generate the myth of its own. Artist’s message is accentuated by presenting the novel and the artwork together. Through this artwork, JEON questions on the ambiguous boundary between the ideas and production, artists and artisans, creation and criticism.

This is JEON’s domestic solo exhibition in 6 years; it displays 6 installation works and sculptures that depict his language in an implicit and precise manner. In addition, the current exhibition also premiers MYOHYANGSANGWAN, a video collaboration with MOON Kyungwon. MYOHYANGSANGWAN, a dreamlike story of art and love that is based on an imaginary North Korean restaurant located in Beijing, China will be exhibited at the 5th Fukuoka Triennale, Japan in the coming September.

Notable past representations of JEON’s work include, Scai the Bathhouse in Tokyo (2009), Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris (2008), Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (2007), British Museum in London (2005), and City Art Centre Edinburgh in Edinburgh (2004). Important group exhibitions include Singapore Biennale, Lichtsicht Biennale (2013), Gwangju Biennale, Kassel dOCUMENTA 13 in Kassel, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (2012), Yokohama Triennale (2011), Kunstmuseum Bochum (2010), The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2009), Moscow Biennial (2009), Nanjing Triennale, Ljubljana Biennale (2007), Singapore Biennale (2006), and Gwangju Biennale (2004). JEON was also the recipient of 2007 Grand Prix of the 27th Biennial of Graphic Art in Ljubljana and 2004 prize at the Gwangju Biennial. From 2009, he has been contemplating about contemporary art and its significance, expendability of exhibitions and the absence of critique. The collaboration with MOON Kyungwon was to create a chance to make practical art that is purely self-reflective. Since then, artist’s individual work and collaboration have been progressing in parallel. In 2012, MOON Kyungwon and JEON Joonho participated in Kassel Documenta13 as the first Korean artist in the last 20 years. In the same year, they were awarded the ‘Noon’ Art Prize from Gwangju Biennale and also ‘The Korea Artist Prize’ from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Selected as the representative artists of Korea, MOON and JEON will present their work at the Korean pavilion, 56th Biennale di Venezia in 2015.

JEON Joonho’s work is included in the collections of world’s major institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Contemporary Art Society in London, Uli Sigg Foundation, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Art, and Amorepacific Museum of Art and many others.