PRESS RELEASE

A Broken Wing <Ahn, Chang Hong 1972-2015>

Ahn, Chang Hong, ‘Self-Portrait’, 1973, oil on canvas, 40.9x31.8cm

Exhibition Period | Nov. 11, 2015 ~ Jan. 17, 2016

Opening Reception | Nov. 11, 2015, Wed, 5pm

Location | Arario Gallery Cheonan,

43 Mannam-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan City, Choongcheong-namdo

Exhibition Content | Over 100 pieces of paintings and sculptures

Exhibition Hours | 11:00– 19:00

PRESS RELEASE

An opportunity to see new aspects of Ahn, Chang Hong’s

works; an exhibition that brings unintroduced works from

the 1970s and his newest pieces together; understanding

the world of art, to which the artist has staunchly adhered

to for over 40 years

The artist’s affectionate dedication to the regular people of our time who

persevered through Korea’s tumultuous history

Introducing the world of art that has been steadfastly upheld by Ahn,

Chang Hong, the “artist who paints the pain of life”

Arario Gallery Cheonan introduces A Broken Wing: Ahn, Chang Hong 1972-2015 from

November 11, 2015, to January 17, 2016.

Ahn, Chang Hong (b.1952) has, for over forty years, continued working on anonymous

individuals who persevered in the Korean society.

Photos of nameless people are retouched or transformed, and the bodies, deprived of their

sensualities, encapsulate the tumultuous history of life. Ahn, through his work, attempted to

paint a dark portrait of an age that has transcended individual records.

The exhibition features Ahn’s productions spanning over forty years, from his unintroduced

early works to his newest paintings of cockscombs. The curation will allow the viewers to

enjoy various works by period.

Ahn’s dedication to art and his effort to expose the pain and absurdity of our time, while

illuminating the agonizing stories of regular people who survived the ups and downs of

modern history.

The thematized sections will help the viewers realize that all his works, including Minjung art,

nudes, and cockscombs, all come together to form a constellation.

PRESS RELEASE

The exhibition will be unveiling over twenty pieces of his earlier works that have never been

shown to the world, including Self-Portrait(1973) and Children Horrified by the Moon(1974),

which provide a peek into his artistic toils as a young man in his twenties, as well as his

newest work, entitled The Age of Barbarism.

Reflecting on the Present through his Earlier Works

Ahn’s representative works, including the Meditations of Forty Nine People, the large-scale nude Bed Couch,

and the cockscombs in In the Garden series leaves vivid impressions in the minds of their viewers. While

they carry different stories from the periods they arise from, the relational context that ties them together

have been largely unrecognized. This exhibition focuses on the journey of seeking out a convergence point

that connects the works, following the thought flows of the artist. Therefore, the earlier works carry

significant meaning, as they serve as the first step towards understanding Ahn’s art world. The viewers can

not only peek into the time the works came from, as well as his thoughts at the time by tracking back to

the origin point, but also learn how the society and his view of art changed over time through comparative

viewings. Also, the viewers will be, along with making new discoveries, reflect on the present in light of the

history by encountering his portraits of the times he lived in.

Keywords

The exhibition will comprise two parts – ‘Life and Death,’ and ‘A Portrait of the Time,’ under the overarching

theme of ‘The Trauma of the Contemporary Subject,’ which is a topic the artist has been pursuing for over

forty years.

1. The gap between life and death

The third floor hall will introduce, for the first time ever, Ahn’s new work The Age of Barbarism, along with

his Meditations of Forty Nine People. The theme of life and death, as the fundamental question that

undergirds human existence, is a shared concern in both works. Ahn retouches old photographs in

Meditations of Forty Nine People. According to the artist’s notes, the piece ‘closes the model/person’s eyes

to prevent the light of the soul from seeping out; the color red will breathe the warmth of life into the lips;

and a butterfly, symbolizing the mediator or messenger, will be lightly perching on the photograph.” In this

way, the anonymous people, whose photographs Ahn procured at a photo studio that was going out of

business, acquire a macroscopic historicity in the binary structure of life and death, and past and present,

going beyond their individual times. The artist discovers a universal time that connects the anonymous

collective from individuals’ times, and as he opens up the forgotten times of the individuals, private time

secures a more existential and ontological temporality.

PRESS RELEASE

By removing the facial expressions of the photographs and covering up the eyes in Meditations of Forty-

nine People, the artist nullifies the unique purpose of the portrait photograph, which is to verify and

emphasize the identity of individuals. This attempt connects back to his new work featured in the exhibition,

in that he uses anonymous subjects and the medium of photographs. The new piece, which he began

working on after reading about the heartbreaking story of a refugee baby’s death, appears to be

attempting the revival of the most fragile being. Also, this piece clearly attests to Ahn’s steadfast stance

toward art, as he continues to speak up on behalf of the weak, and show embracing compassion.

2. The Companion Journey of Art and Korea’s Contemporary History

The contemporary subject, as Ahn sees it, refers to ourselves who have survived the tumultuous moments

of contemporary Korean history and its capitalist society. Ahn connects the past with the present through

family photos, group photos, and celebratory photos, embodying the anonymous and suppressed

experiences that were buried in the macroscopic flow of history. To Ahn, the past is not a disconnected

dead-end but a valid element of the present. Therefore, individual histories become a channel through

which he could expose the historical traumas.

This exhibition collects and features works that help us trace Ahn’s thoughts about Korea’s contemporary

history. Unlike his earlier works from the 1970s, which were mostly still life, landscape, and self-portraits, his

productions from the late ‘70s and thereon project the artist’s thoughts about social issues, such as in After

Human Being (1979). Along with works from the ‘80s such as Scream(1986), which reflect the sense of

despair and resistance in response to the dark times, there are portraitures of the capitalist society in the

1990s, including Prostitute(1980), and Like Models III(1991). Also, the viewers will be able to see various

<Artist Notes for Meditations of Forty-Nine People>

Negative images that were about to be discarded at the photo studio when it was about to go out of

business – like souls that are trapped in a slim and transparent film, as if cursed by a cruel witch, these

photographs began to speak to me out of frozen moments in their past.

.. these photographs were burdened by the pains of life in different forms, sharing the sense of collective

presence. The feeling of this taxidermied time exerted a magical force, and brought me unfamiliar and

indescribable poetic inspirations. From children to the old, the gazes that trained their sights on me in so

many forms, were frozen in their moments in front of the camera instead of staring out at myself. As if

meditating, with their eyes open…

... I knew where I was going. I wanted to place their time of existence in the gap between the past and

present.

The gap between existence and absence, life and death.

The gap between the present and the bygone time, and the gap between a taxidermied past in the faded

photograph and the place where they once lived.

From the Artist’s Notes, 2004

PRESS RELEASE

works other than paintings that were produced around the same time, such as numerous drawings,

sculptures, and collage. The collection, comprising over 100 pieces of Ahn’s work, will present different

aspects of Ahn’s art world. Leading into his most recent works such as the Bed Couch series, and the new

piece The Age of Barbarism(2015), his art world is closely tied to the social situation, and connected by the

overarching objective of “portraying the pains and traumas of Korea’s contemporary history.” The artistic

topography of Ahn, Chang Hong’s art world will help the viewers witness the colors of the times, and the

visceral savagery of humanity in the throes of capitalism. The faces of the characters will push us to reflect

on the emptiness and futility of the contemporary society.

The exhibition will serve as an opportunity for the viewers to unfetter themselves from preconceived

notions of Ahn’s works, which have been instilled into the art sphere as well as the general public, and

witness the artist’s thoughts about the society and his artistic experimentations. The viewers can follow the

trail of unfamiliar works from his earlier days, well-known pieces, and newly featured drawings and

sculptures, and thereby acquire a broader understanding of his aesthetics. The exhibition will take place at

Arario Gallery Cheonan’s 3rd and 4th floor galleries, until January 17th of 2016.

Ahn Chang Hong, Children Horrified by the Moon, 1974, oil on canvas, 91x65cm

PRESS RELEASE

Ahn Chang Hong, After Human Being, 1979, collage and oil on paper, 93x184 츠

Ahn Chang Hong, Prostitute, 1980, collage, 33x23cm

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Ahn Chang Hong, Scream, 1986, color pencil, drawing ink on paper, 79.5x109.7cm

Ahn Chang Hong, A bird with no wings, 1991, esquisse, 34x26.5cm

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Ahn Chang Hong, Mediations of Forty-nine People, 2004, mixed media on photograph, each 110x75cm

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Ahn Chang Hong, Broken face, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 210 x 450.5 cm

Ahn Chang Hong, Bed couch 4, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 210 x 300 cm

PRESS RELEASE

Ahn Chang Hong, The Age of Barbarism, 2015, epoxy, glue and pigment print on canvas, 248 x 695cm

PRESS RELEASE

■ Profile

1953, Born in Milyang

Works in Yang pyeong

Solo Exhibitions

2014 Solo exhibition In the Garden, Page Gallery, Seoul

2013 The 25th Lee Jung-sub Art Award Celebration Exhibition, An Chang-hong, Chosun Ilbo Art Museum, Seoul

An Chang-hong Exhibition, Discovery, Alternative Space Loop, Seoul

2012 The 30th An Chang-hong Exhibition, Arirang, Page Gallery, Seoul

2011 The 28th An Chang-hong Exhibition, Travel Sketches from India, Space Gallery, Busan

The 27th An Chang-hong Exhibition, Uncomfortable Truth, Gana Art, Seoul

2010 The 10th Lee Insung Art Awardee Exhibition, Culture and Art Center Dalgubul Hall, Daegu

2009 The 26th An Chang-hong Exhibition, Black and White Mirror, Savina Museum, Seoul

The 25th An Chang-hong Exhibition, The Portrait of the Time, City Art Museum, Busan

2006 The 24th An Chang-hong Exhibition, Space Gallery, Busan

2002 The 19th An Chang-hong Exhibition, by invitation, Savina Museum, Seoul

1993 The 8th An Chang-hong Exhibition by Invitation, Kumho Gallery, Seoul

1981 The 1st An Chang-hong Exhibition, Space Gallery, Busan, Youth Artist Center, Seoul

Group Exhibitions

2013 'Tele-V’ision, Hyundai Hwarang, Seoul

2013 People! People! Shin Hak-chul and An Chang-hong exhibition, Gyeonggi MoMA, Gyeonggi District

2011 Korean Rhapsody, A Montage of History and Memory, Leeum Musem, Seoul

2011 A Portrait of the Time, Portrait Exhibition, Bukchon Art Museum, Seoul

2010 Artist and Family, Daejun City Art Museum, Daejun

2009 Mirror of the Human- The Head, Kims Art Field Art Gallery, Busan

2009 The Age of Monsters, City Art Museum, Seoul

2008 Spring Day Passing, City Art Museum, Gwangju

2007 The Realism of Korean Art – The Pulse of the People – Traveling Exhibition (five cities including

Bandagia, Fukuoka, and Miyakojono City Museum), Japan

2006 100 Years of Korean Art, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul

2005 Korean Contemporary Art APEC Memorial Special Exhibition, City Art Museum, Busan

2005 Resisting Translation, Total Art Museum, Seoul

2004 Busan Biennale, City Art Museum invitation, Busan

2003 The First Beijing Biennale, Beijing

2003 Drawing Paintings – the Proposition of Hybrid Painting, Yeongeun Museum, Gyeoggi District

2002 Gwangju Biennale Project 3-Probation, 8.15 Memorial Park, Gwangju

2001 Korean Art; Reinstatement of Contemporary Art, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul

1998 Window – Inside and Outside, City Art Museum invitation, Gwangju

1998 Re-illuminating Busan Art, City Art Museum invitation, Busan

1997 Contemporary Art '97 Exhibition, National Museum of Contemporary Art invitation, Seoul

1997 Gallery Full of Humor, Sungkok Museum invitation, Seoul

1997 Gwangju Biennale Special Exhibition, City Art Museum invitation, Gwangju

1994 15 Years in Minjung Art, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul

1990 Hwarang Art Festival, Hoam Museum, Space Gallery invitation

1988 The Stature of Korean Art, Hangang Art Museum invitation, Seoul

1986 Reality and Statement, Gurim Madang Min, Seoul

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1983 Reality and Statement Association Exhibition, Kwanhoon Art Center, Seoul

Awards

2013 The 25th Lee Jung-sub Art Award

2009 The 10th Lee In-sung Art Award (Daegu)

2001 The 1st Buil Art Award (first prize), Busan Ilbo, Busan

2000 The 10th Bongseng Culture Award (exhibition section), Bongseng Cultural Foundation, Busan

1989 Cagnes International Painting Festival, Special Jury Award, Cagnes, France

Contact | Chief Curator Yang Minhee

M. 010-9249-9296

E. dream@arario.com

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