Chung is concerned in contemplating the insignificance of daily life by depicting it lightly with frivolous materials such as push pins, stainless steel, plaster and magnets.
curated by Suechung Koh
For the past 10 years Jina Chung has been dealing with
ambivalence in her work. And this ambivalence is the experience of
having thoughts or emotions of both a positive and negative nature
simultaneously.
In 2000, Chung began her journey in pursuit of contradiction
with her series The Poop Tale, which features vulgar sculptural forms
covered with feminine ornaments and clothing, thereby disturbing
conventions and inducing humor. The next series, entitled The
Manic-Depression of a Voracious Reader, a work on paper, restores the
vulgar to the beautiful by using words leading us to sympathize with
the human condition. These sentences enhance the spirit of jest
through a subversion of solemnity.
And then finally Jina Chung became interested in contemplating
the insignificance of daily life by depicting it lightly with
frivolous materials such as push pins, stainless steel, plaster and
magnets, etc. They comprise a confession of what she witnesses in her
daily life and the moments of indulgence from the art making process
thus making the usage of text become more visible. Recently, Chung has
used text, suggesting that it can be perceived differently through the
use of contradictory materials. Irony and contrast are the key
principles of her works. Chung’s art reflects her adoption of
ambivalence as seen in her transgressive means and understanding of
the condition of our times.
Jina Chung earned a BFA in Sculpture at HongIk University and
an MFA in Sculpture at HongIk University and the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Chung also earned a Ph.D. in the Science
of Fine Art from Hong Ik University. She has had numerous solo and
group shows in prestigious galleries and museums in Asia such as Seoul
City Museum of Art, Sejong Art Center, Beijing Central Academy of Art,
Aichi Prefectural Museum in Nagoya and was included in the 2009
International Incheon Female Artists Biennial.
Opening: Thursday November 15, 6-8pm
Elga Wimmer
526 West 26th Street, 3rd Floor- New York
Free admission