Lot 1240: CHOI SO YOUNG

CHOI SO YOUNG
(B. 1980)
After the Snow
signed, titled and inscribed in Korean; inscribed and dated '112 x 162 cm 2010' (on the reverse)
denim, cable and acrylic on wood panel
162 x 113 x 6.5 cm. (63 3/4 x 44 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)
Executed in 2010

Seoul, Korea, CAIS Gallery, Denimscape, 9 September-8 October 2010.

CAIS Gallery, Choi So Young, exh. cat., Seoul, Korea, 2010 (illustrated, p. 18).

Dedicatedly observing her immediate surroundings of her hometown Busan and recreating it in second handed denims, Choi SoYoung captures various aspects of capitalist society and autobiographical subjects in romanticized vision. Deeply immersed with nostalgia, she utilizes recycled denims as a trans-contextual approach in transferring human feelings into her compositions; the textures and colours of fabrics, fading and tearing of the medium as a character for its previous owners and as a cultural and consumerist symbol for the everyday life, communal and self expression.

Choi acknowledged these social traits of denim and redefined it into epic heroism, sharing similar poetic views as Jean Francois Millet. Aggregating multiple influences and sources of denim, the rural and shabby houses of Busan were stretched in panoramic vista under Choi's dexterous handling and inventive technique for variably illustrative yet versatile and economic usage of denim. The cropped composition provides a simple snapshot of high vantage point. The city of Busan stretches far in tidy assemblage and in uniform sequence, evoking an illusionary sense of movement. The scrupulous details of torn, dyed, feathered denim vibrate with an optical illusion, inspiring a sense of drama and grandeur to this humble neighborhood. Choi's new work experiments with varying atmospheric conditions as she coats white paints on top of its richly detailed buildings to illustrate a sense of accumulating snow. Here, the white paint creates compositional division in dividing the canvas into foreground, middle and into an expanding background. The cool white trails of snow on the road and on roof top softens these scattered diminutive buildings in harmony and prompts a striking pictorial and sensual language, heightening the emotion in this common episode. These selective areas of blankness provide a phenomenological experience of being inside Choi's painting, looking down to the city as we breath in air and space, appreciating the sensation of fresh, cool climate After the Snow (Lot 1240).