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Born and based in Seoul, Kwon Ki-soo works in a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture and video. He is primarily known for his creation of Dongguri, a character that frequently appears in his work. The human-shaped figure formed by symbolized and purified black lines, is a mechanic and simplified image and thought of modernization full of metaphor. Nowadays Dongguri has become a popular worldwide new vocabulary. “You are so Dongguri!”is almost an pronoun of happy, considerate, and warm. Everyone wants to be Dongguri, and could become Dongguri, to bring the shining smile and energy to himself, as well as to others. Furthermore, Dongguri is always accompanied with highly colorful background. In the fantasia forest the straight bamboos like fireworks draw the colors of various emotions; simplicity contains rich colors; the similar-shaped flowers in different sizes animate the variations and layers in the space. In the uncomplicated structure there is a vivid but still elegant profundity. Through Dongguri, Kwon Kisoo well presents his life philosophy of “profound simplicity”. He hopes to makes everyone smile while seeing Dongguri.
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The concept of “Profound simplicity” makes every Kwon’s work a poem, a modern free-verse poem however containing the lyric disposition of ancient poetry. It just nicely reflects the personal characteristic of Kwon’s artworks, to represent innovative modernism with traditional thought of Korean literati culture. His use of pop language creates animate varieties in the extremely accurate patterns, and gives Kwon’s artworks the poetic attraction similar to Cheng Chou-Yi’s verse “da-da of horse’s roof”, tasty and pregnant with meaningful scenes.
Dongguri’s world is just like your and my world. He would take walk in the forest, think when sitting on the rock, be inspired in the water, fly in the dream, even rowing and swing… and also has a lovely dog accompanying. Dongguri’s world is full of infinite happiness, as well as wisdom beyond humor. In fact Dongguri’s “profound happiness” is a contemporary new vocabulary derived from Korean literati paintings. Just like Dongguri’s favorite habit to see on the square in the bamboo forest – the square symbolizes meditation stone which is an important icon in Korean literati culture and paintings – Kwon Ki-soo gives this philosophy an abstract and sophisticate contemporary meaning.
In the colorful visual language, Kwon Ki-soo constantly creates fresh expressions and connotations. “Spherical World - Red” (2008) is painted directly on aluminum to create an expressive joy and a round perfection similar to jade ring; “Flame Flower – The Red River” presents a rather profound space by wandering rivers curving into the depth beyond the forest, therefore layers of vision have been greatly enriched. In “Square Forest”, a small boat flows between chromatic glister and shadow; tons of rainbow cubes pile up a splendid fairyland; the rippling of water is just like the adorable dimples on Dongguri’s smile. In the series of “Flying”, irregular diversities appear in the well-ordered structure by switching red, green and purple. Patternized Dongguri’s were displayed repetitively in big or small sizes like shining stars. Although the works describe Dongguri sitting on the airplane, two of these elements are painted in same scale and become a united image. The structure of parallel visual line gives the work an abnormal sense of speed; just like the immense sky with shining star river across, it presents an extraordinary charming vision.
Through Dongguri Kwon Ki-soo brings paintings into a free fantastic world. Just like Korean celebrated art critic and curator Kim Sunhee said, Kwon Ki-soo abandons the visual imitation to the reality, and turns to seek a deeper world. Mountains and water become a kind of symbol, a paradigm and a fundamental concept. He successful build a strong personal totem and icon, interprets in an interesting way “a world where lightness and heaviness coexist”. |
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| 1972 |
Born in Young-ju, Korea |
| 1998 |
M.F.A. Hongik university, Seoul |
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| Solo Exhibitions
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| 1998 |
The Show 1998 (Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul) |
| 2002 |
Wow, This Is A Flower! ('Congdu' In An Annex To The Woljon Art Center, Seoul ; Gallery Fish, Seoul ) |
| 2004 |
A Red Fountain (Gallery Fish, Seoul) |
| 2005 |
Kwon, Ki Soo-Animation (Paik Hae Young Gallery, Seoul) |
| 2006 |
Black Forest (Artpark Gallery,Seoul) |
| 2008 |
Who’s Dongguri? (Metaphysical Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan)
4 Seasons (Parkryusook Gallery, Seoul) |
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| Group Exhibition (selected) - |
| 1996 |
The 15 th Grand Art Exhibition of Korea(National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kwachun) |
| 1997 |
Mirror (Seo-nam Art Museum, Seoul) |
| 1998 |
Filter-Come Out of the Forest (Insa Gallery, Seoul)
Kim's Outlet Open Festival (Kim's Outlet, Bundang) |
| 1999 |
Filter-Anxiety (Seoul Art Center, Seoul)
Bus-Demonstration (Sung-gok Art Museum, Seoul)
Visual Culture-Change a Century (Sung-gok Art Museum, Seoul) |
| 2000 |
Market-Make up (Mapogu.Seoul) |
| 2001 |
Filter-The 4th(HanWon Art Center, Seoul)
Korean Spirit (Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul) |
| 2002 |
Flow: New Tendencies in Korean Art
Paradise Among Us (Korean Culture and Arts Foundation, Seoul)
The 1st Flood gate Open Art Museum Project (Hangang Park, Seoul) |
| 2003 |
Prince & Princess' (Gallery Hyundai, Seoul)
Comics in Art, Art in Comics (Ewha Womans University Museum, Seoul)
Korean painting Paradiso (Posco Art Museum, Seoul)
Fly Dongguri-KBS(Korea Broadcasting Station) Digital Museum
Finding the hidden images-Before & After (Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art, Daejeon)
Art and Playing (Hangaram Art Museum of Seoul Arts Center, Seoul)
Pleasure Factory (Seoul Museum of Art , Seoul) |
| 2004 |
Traveling Art Museum (National Museum of Contemporary Art.Korea)
What happens between Art and Popular Culture(National Museum of Contemporary Art.Korea)
Wow, This Is A Flower! (Jebiwool Art Museum, Gwacheon)
Butterfly which dream (Unicef hall, Chuncheon)
Gulliver's Travels (Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul)
Summer Screen ( ?gallery ,SK Telecom mobile gallery june)
Fiction.Love-Ultra New Vision in Contemporary Art(Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei, MOCA-Taipei)
The 1st Juan Media Festival-Joy mART(Youth Media Cultural Center, Juan)
Image Utopia (Kepco plaza, Seoul)
Tadpole and frog (Gallery Artpark)
Art Toon/Toon Art (Gail Art Museum, Gapyeong) |
| 2005 |
New Acquistions 2004 (National Museum of Contemporary Art. Korea)
Traveling Art Museum 2005 (National Museum of Contemporary Art.Korea)
The Elegance of Silence(MORI ART MUSUEM, Tokyo)
Looking Both Ways : Three Artists (Yellow Bird Gallery, Newburgh, New York )
The Zoo in the Museum (Jeonbuk Province Art Museum)
Seoul Exhibition of Young Artists (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul)
MAM SCREEN (Mori Bilding Screen, Tokyo)
The 1st China International Animation and Comic Industrial Expo (Hangzhou, China) ?
The Magic of Art (Chosun-ilbo Museum, Seoul)
United Buddy Bears Seoul Festival 2005 (Seoul Olympic Park, Seoul)
AnSan Media Art 2005 (Danwon gallery, Ansan)
?Art Toon,Toon Art (Gail Art Museum, Gapyeong) |
| 2006 |
A Hat and A Boa (Gallery Skape, Seoul)
Fiction @ Love (MOCA Shanghai, Shanghai)
Joyful art travel (Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju,Korea)
The 2nd China International Cartoon and Animation Festival( Hangzhou , China)
Power of imagination (Korea University Museum, Seoul)
Fiction @ Love (Singapore Art Museum, Singapore)
Who are you (Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul)
'Living Furniture'-Busan biennial(Busan, Korea)
On-go-e-g-shin (Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art, Daejeon)
The 5th Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (Queensland Art Gallery, Australia) |
| 2007 |
Exposition Animanga-EXIT and VIA's international Festivals
(Creteil/Maubeuge, France)
Another Home (Cais Gallery, Hong Kong)
Giants in Illusion (Seajong art center, Seoul, Korea)
The blooming day in a Museum (Gongju National Museum, Gongju)
3rd Life 4th Dimension Animamix (Sun Yat-Set Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan)
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| 2008 |
One Fine Spring Day (Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju, Korea)
Child at Heart: Purity in Innocence in Korean Art
(Ewha Womans University Museum, Seoul)
Larger than Life Art Gallery - iGoogle artist campaign (New York, US)
An Island 649-11 (LIG Art Hall, Seoul) |
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| Awards and Special Citations - |
| 1996 |
The 15 th Grand Art Exhibition of Korea Finalist |
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