W Tree Hannam, 'Six Modern Painters who will Light up Korea' Exhibition a Huge Success!
Date Entered: 2023-05-20 09:00:00, Modified: 2023-05-20 14:04:5
Catacomb, famous for hosting the world-renowned musical Cats in the new theater of W Tree Hannam.
This exhibition, organized by W Tree Group and sponsored by the National Museum of Modern Art, selected six young modern painters to lead South Korea, and has been held from March 1st to May 23rd, 2024.
W Tree Group announced the end of the exhibition after the upcoming weekend and shared the current performance results, with an unusual visitor participation graph.
In the first week of the exhibition, the number of visitors was low compared to the British Museum's art exhibition held at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, but the graph began to show an upward curve from the second week.
This was due to the acclaim from art critics of the well-known art magazine, Art Classic.
The main artist of these works is Ban Junghoon.
This 29-year-old young painter is the CEO of the design company Artist Company, the co-designer of MG Electronics' jackpot refrigerator 'Belle Epoque' last year, and the artist behind the ceiling mural of Catacomb's theater.
He has another interesting career highlight.
That is the stage art for the world-famous pianist Irina Sebanova.
The stage art, created with digital media art, is staged to be visible from the audience seats, but it is said that it is not a work for the audience.
Jerzy Stuhr, a piano professor at the prestigious Warsaw Music Academy, highly praised Ban for leading the harmony of art and music, saying that Ban's painting is a kind of metronome that moves the pianist to perfectly express Chopin's rubato.
Ban Junghoon also received attention at this exhibition.
The art critics of Art Classic said, "All art is subject to public evaluation, but artists speak of intensely personal emotions. For whom does the bell toll? Who is art for? Focusing on who to paint for rather than what to paint is a new concept. We need more of such art."
W Tree Group purchased all 20 works submitted by Ban Junghoon for this exhibition and announced that they would use a corner of the theater as an exhibition space for the permanent art exhibition for the visually impaired. Thus, Ban Junghoon's works will continue to be available for viewing as long as W Tree Hannam continues its theater business.
Another event that led to the success of this exhibition is the launch of a new product, or rather, a new service by MG Electronics.
In an interview, Monica Rossellini, the chief designer of MG Electronics, introduced the new product 'Sepia Canvas Ban Edition'. She also noted that this product is optimized for the MG U+ communication service.
The Sepia Canvas Ban Edition, as the name suggests, is a product meaning Ban Junghoon's edition, with the functionality of a TV removed and its weight reduced. Except for the 16K high-definition monitor feature, it contains only basic functions needed for Wifi.
Why was such a product created?
The answer lies in MG U+'s new service, 'Monthly Art'.
Customers who purchase this product can use 'Monthly Art' for free for six months, and then start a service to view famous paintings at an affordable monthly cost of 2,900 won. The Sepia Canvas Van Edition is available for purchase in sizes ranging from 30 inches to 50, 65, 75, 100, 150, and 200 inches, according to consumer preferences, and even the largest canvas can be hung on the wall with just two nails.
The collaboration product launched by a leading domestic electronics company sparked curiosity among the visitors, and the paintings displayed at a lower position were not only accessible to the visually impaired but also to children. Although it was a joint exhibition, it was popular enough to be called a solo exhibition.
With this, Ban Junghoon can be said to be the most talked-about winner among the six painters who participated in the exhibition.
Is a new star born in the Korean contemporary art world?
It's too early to conclude.
However, Ban Jeong-hoon certainly shines. The writer hopes that this light continues to shine for a long time.
Reporter Kim Hyun-ju [emailprotected]
[ Uju Daily & , All rights reserved]
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