Exhibition Information

SHIN SOO HYEOK 01 Critical Point No,2406

SHIN SOO HYEOK 10 Critical Point No,2403

SHIN SOO HYEOK 16 Critical Point No,2414

			A Natural Structure Embracing a Cross-section of the Azure Sky


Blue emerges as the primary color in Soohyeok Shin's exhibition titled “Critical Point.” It's somewhat unexpected that this rich and diverse color palette originated from the lines of graph paper, which are mechanical prints. Blue, extending beyond its simple definition as a single color, has frequently been associated with metaphysical or mystical connotations. Another source of the color blue can be found in the imprints of stamps. Although the stamps imprinted on documents like passports ensure the legitimacy of important acts of crossing borders for travelers, from a formative and aesthetic viewpoint, they are almost randomly generated, much like graph paper. Soohyeok Shin comments on the hue of these stamps as follows: "...As my paintings find the roots from stamp mapping, I predominantly employ a blue shade akin to stamp ink. However, it's important to note that not all blues are identical. For instance, in the “Blue Note” exhibition, I opted for indigo blue, while in “Melted Blue,” I leaned towards emerald green. Nowadays, I favor ultramarine blue. The intensity of blue is influenced by lighting conditions...” (excerpt from an interview with Morning Calm in 2020)
The vast spectrum of blue, as suggested by the physics-themed subtitle “Critical Point,” illustrates that slight variations in this color resemble changes reminiscent of those observed in a grid square. At the critical point, even minor differences can lead to significant qualitative transformations by reconfiguring the molecular composition of substances. Human activities related to production and consumption have prompted numerous harmful impacts on the Earth's ecosystem, akin to critical points resembling time bombs since the onset of modern times. From a distance, the carefully executed brushstrokes, rendered in both vertical and horizontal orientations, fade, evoking a sky-blue shade. When displayed side by side, canvases of equal sizes appear to alter the perception of space, depending on the timeframe. The Impressionists depicted such phenomena in real-time on their canvases. The color, or light, of the sky, associative with Soohyeok Shin's works, is never static but rather continuously fluctuating. Other artists have also paid attention to the vibrant canvas of nature. Their blue encompasses a vast array of nuances, often described as "sky-blue." This sky-blue hue, reminiscent of azure due to light scattering, is more attributable to a physical phenomenon rather than a psychological or aesthetic one.
The subtle distinction known as the "critical point" resides within his unique brushwork, diverging from quantitative criteria such as grid squares. Soohyeok Shin explains, "As light interacts with the atmosphere, it becomes compressed, resulting in a visual perception of blue light. This captures the clear air layers of dawn, tranquility and fine resonance coming from nature when a day begins, delicate beginnings, breathing and repetition of the start of each day and newness.” The format of this exhibition, initiated in 2015-2016, embodies a phase of “laying lines,” as he describes it, rather than “drawing” or “sketching” them. While these laid lines do originate from a specific point, they do not adhere to the conventional geometric concept of connecting one point to another. The blue lines in his artworks do not have a defined origin and purpose, unlike the structured nature of a blueprint drawn on graph paper. The moment of equilibrium, where no additional refinement is necessary, is a state discernible only by the artist. The lines connecting one point to another serve as precise reproduction of the initial plan, akin to architectural blueprints.
However, Soohyeok Shin’s brushwork of horizontal and vertical lines serves only for freely traversing the canvas at his discretion. A stream within the early abstract art movement, the geometric tendency had a convergence moment with architecture, and the example can be found in Constructivism. An instance can be observed in Bauhaus or “Painterly Architectonics” (as explored by Lyubov Popova) around the 1920s, representing an experimental phase within Russian Constructivism. In the realm of “Painterly Architectonics,” screens were created from “abstract forms and patterns.” Nevertheless, Soohyeok Shin's pieces are far from the “reductionist analysis” of abstract forms as described by Popova. Instead, his approach involves the application of rules similar to technical design, accentuating the artistic features. Those rules aim at aesthetic communication, such as empathy or sympathy. Though each artwork differs, the delicate forms moving horizontally or vertically resemble those found amidst points and lines. This exhibition's works are the result of the artist's daily confrontation with empty canvases, with only the rule of laying lines based on vertical/horizontal forms, as a sort of play of repetition and variation.
Soohyeok Shin states that he encounters a cross-section of an instant where the vertical axis of time overlaps with the horizontal axis of time in an ongoing process of superposing. Even when painting adheres to representationalism, it captures a cross-section of an instant. Painting, as a spatial art form, intended to convey narratives through situations by depicting the before and after of dramatic actions. In contemporary art, where the replication of objects is often denied, the concept of a moment (an instant) extends into continuity. Aesthetic approaches emphasizing this continuity have evolved or dismantled traditional boundaries, leading to a theatricality that transcends painting and engages the viewer’s entire sensory perception. Soohyeok Shin's art, presented in a serialized manner, suggests a sense of ongoing continuity within each piece and across the connections among them. His artistic endeavors are an awakening for boundless immersion, inviting viewers to partake in this experience. As traditional reproduction techniques are transferred to various mechanical mediums like photography, immersion emerges as a defining aspect of art. It is viewed as a necessary and sufficient condition for creative expression. This immersive quality can elevate art to a quasi-religious experience, in the sense that it is not an addiction that harms the mind and body.
Soohyeok Shin states, “I shape a tactile experience of horizontal and vertical lines on canvas through the touches of brushstrokes. Each moment I face represents a cross-section of numerous ongoing processes characterized by continuity and progression. The layers of paint resulting from these strokes not only form a two-dimensional structure but also evoke a sense of depth reminiscent of an abyss. I constantly engage in a cyclical process of accumulation by pauses and ongoing flow, and overlaps with my breathing. This integration and passage of time often purify my mind and give me a sense of enriching concentration. The subtitle of the exhibition, "Critical Point," suggests a qualitative transformation beyond mere mechanical repetition. Soohyeok Shin’s artworks, which focus on fundamental elements of form and color, can metaphorically represent moments of transformation where states undergo subtle shifts at a microscopic level. In his book Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another, Philip Ball discusses how small effects in society can lead to abrupt changes, utilizing the catastrophe theory of geology established by René Thom.
Concerning Soohyeok Shin's “Critical Point,” the concept of phase transition, as explored by Philip Ball, becomes the most significant. The critical point depicted in his art is linked to phase transition, which corresponds to a point evolving into sudden changes in an organization.” This critical temperature, or point, marks the moment of sudden phase transition. Philip Ball emphasizes that the crucial aspect of phase transition is its simultaneous manifestation throughout the entire system. This phenomenon arises from the collection of numerous constituent particles. Phase transition represents a sudden and comprehensive shift in behavior resulting from interactions among these numberless particles. It is generated when a certain threshold of overall influence acting on the particles is surpassed. All particles rapidly form connections with one another, creating a complex network. The artist experiences instances where some difference emerges amidst repetition. To assess this variation, the artist visualized geometric frameworks akin to graph paper, in his early stage of creation.
As the project evolved, the grid squares on the graph paper became ingrained rhythms. Soohyeok Shin’s interest in architecture grew during his studies in Japan in the early 2000s. Consequently, he viewed a blue-scaled paper as an effective space to commence and finalize concepts, similar to working on canvas, with the process documented. In his 2017 solo exhibition, he depicted architectural structures through painting. Even during this period, Soohyeok Shin's focus wasn’t primarily on depicting architectural subjects. Instead, he “concentrated on the formative composition arising from lines and surfaces (Joo Eunjeong in an excerpt from "Soohyeok Shin’s Architectural Façades.") According to the artist, the series showcased at Ilwoo Space in 2019, which also relates to the current exhibition, aimed to visually represent abstract and implied geometric structures of light. Subsequently, Soohyeok Shin depicted structural elements and lines with greater implication and condensation. Meanwhile, the architectural forms contrasted against the blue-sky backdrop, with the skyline also reflecting the characteristics of the structures. The painting format, previously compared to windows, now encompasses rectangles that portray the ever-shifting sky, allowing for overlapping representations.
The artworks displayed in the white cube at regular intervals seem to aim at evoking perceptions of various time frames within a single space. Through his paintings infused with vivacity, the artist even manages to capture the essence of air in optical effects. In his pieces, colors symbolize “cross-sections of the azure sky,” with white representing brightness and blue embodying the darkness enveloping the phase where brightness emerges from obscurity. Hence, colors in his works reflect the “state of light enveloped within the air” (Soohyeok Shin). In her book Psychology of Color, Eva Heller points out that warm colors create a sense of closeness, while cool colors give the impression of distance. She observes that as a color recedes, it becomes less intense and adopts a bluish hue, as it is affected by the air covering it. The air or water in a glass jar appears colorless, but the deep sea appears blue. This phenomenon occurs because as depth increases, colors gradually vanish into blue. The color blue emerges as it reaches boundless transparency. Artists have frequently captured this phenomenon through aerial perspective. In Soohyeok Shin's works, influenced by his fascination with architecture, there’s a structural component, yet the blue, imbued with light and air, takes on a cool hue blended with a warm nuance.
According to Eva Heller, both ice and snow emit a blue hue, suggesting that blue is cooler compared to white. It is because white represents light, while blue signifies shade. In the mid to late 19th century, Impressionist artists moved away from merely reproducing objects in their realistic colors, instead breaking them down into the colors of light. Since that period, blue has replaced brown shadows in paintings. In her book The Mystery of Color: Matter and Myth, Margarete Bruns discusses eight colors. In the section “Blue,” she explores the concept of the blue of air, which is essentially colorless but adopts its hue from the depth of the sky's blue. Bruns suggests that the cosmic shadows of darkness permeate the air, causing it to appear inevitably blue. This phenomenon results from the interplay of light and darkness (Leonardo da Vinci). Soohyeok Shin sympathizes with the late Impressionists to capture a fresh perception of light and air (like Monet and Turner) within classical spatial structures (like those of Seurat). In The Impressionists at First Hand, Bernard Denvir cites novelist Duranty's remarks on this matter.
Duranty suggests that the Impressionists successfully deconstructed solar light into its seven fundamental colors through their intuitive perception of the moment. They then reconstructed these colors on the canvas as a unified entity, aiming to evoke the vibration of light and color. Novelist Mallarmé similarly assesses that scattered light intermingles with all elements, emitting the canvas with liveliness through the delicate application of “pure colors.” Through this method, they gave vibrancy to static images. To 21st-century artist Soohyeok Shin, it is important to translate experience and memory into the inherent rhythms of painting diverging from the literal depiction of nature in sunlight favored by 19th-century pioneers. He aligns with late Impressionist movements that aimed to enhance the vitality of Impressionism, resulting in novel insights into both nature and art. When addressing the two-dimensional quality of painting, one can refer to Cézanne's artistic decisions. In his work Modern European Art, Alan Bowness discusses Cézanne's approach to depicting landscapes, noting that the French artist often portrayed several layers of space as parallel to each other rather than relying on the linear perspective system centered around a vanishing point. Cézanne himself states, “I intended to convey perspective primarily through the use of color.”
Subsequent abstract movements allowed for flat compositions filled with light, much like landscape paintings. To modern artists, the painting became a flat surface in essence. Alan Bowness regards Matisse as a representative painter who achieved harmony between surface and space due to the artist’s painting light-infused colors without the use of chiaroscuro, in a two-dimensional manner. It is an embodiment of Cézanne who aimed to find something eternal from Impressionist art. As Michael Levey, in his book From Giotto to Cézanne, states that there emerged a tendency to constantly scrutinize models to perpetuate the relationships between each form and pattern, instead of merely capturing similarities between the two. According to Alan Bowness, Cézanne’s landscape paintings reach a point where it is impossible. to separate modelling, drawing, color, tone and composition. Painting has been reduced to the colored brush mark. This is all-important common denominator of everything that happens on the canvas. Alan Bowness states, “Cézanne and Monet both realized that, as Bergson claimed, we can only know space in and through time, and that the changing consciousness of the observer.”
Regarding the relationship between abstract art and light, observed in Soohyeok Shin’s works, one could refer to Alan Bowness's observation of light seen in Delaunay's paintings, “where light is considered as the source of all life and energy, as well as the source of all colors.” Soohyeok Shin's approach, following scientific discoveries to find the freshness of nature, departs from the traditional symbolism found in contemporary art. For instance, one could draw parallels between the relationship of Soohyeok Shin's vertical/horizontal lines and Mondrian's abstract compositions. According to Alan Bowness, Mondrian's utilization of vertical and horizontal lines reflects a connection to the Neo-Platonic system akin to theosophy. He proposes that these lines adhere to a strict symbolism, representing contrasting patterns (active/passive, male/female, space/time, darkness/light) when forming the foundation of geometric diminishment along both the vertical and horizontal axes. Nonetheless, the 21st century won't draw much from conceptual idealism. In Soohyeok Shin's pieces, the vertical and horizontal lines on the canvas aren't meticulously measured with a ruler; instead, they embody the artist's breath and movements, in a spontaneous manner.
The lines, diverging in various directions, combine in a complementary manner, much like the concepts of yin and yang, inhalation and exhalation. Unlike the prior rigid lines, there's an increase in entropy. It resembles a densely packed entity governed by consistent rules, akin to a flat structure covered with a substance storing energy. While blue may seem less active than the red spectrum, it physically holds stronger energy in nature due to its shorter wavelengths. Contrary to the common psychological perception of blue as peaceful and cold, Margarete Bruns asserts it holds the greatest energy in physical reality. Deciphering compressed matter to derive significance, perceived as energy, falls on the interpreter’s shoulders. Much like weaving on a loom rather than a textile machine, the gaps between the warp and weft may slightly differ in each work but still form similar compositions. The intervals between the paint strokes created by dabbing with a small brush serve as a record of the artist's breath at the moment, reminiscent of a fontanelle amidst previous traces. Similar to recalling details such as attire worn on a significant occasion or minor nuances, the artist heightened the alignment between the creation process and the artwork to recapture the diverse intricacies of life in each analogous piece.
Instead of aiming to convey specific meanings through shapes and colors, the process leans more towards a disciplined devotion, wherein the artist’s repetitive gestures generate differences. The rigid lines, both vertical and horizontal, act as formative components mirroring the rectangular structure of the canvas. Although the density of the arrangement varies across artworks, they all share the characteristic of progressing from right to left across the display. In discussing his approach, Soohyeok Shin asserts, “My art maintains a connection from the initial mark I make on the blank canvas to its ultimate point.” His use of vertical and horizontal elements is closely tied to the inherent condition of the rectangular canvas. He must move away from all themes in order to be conscious of the condition that painting is canvas. According to Greenberg's theory, art primarily aims to convey the irreplaceable aspects of experience through direct sensory means, rather than focusing on representing ideologies or concepts. This suggests a willing acceptance of the constraints within a particular artistic medium.
To restore the identity of painting within today's highly specialized society, the focus should be on highlighting “the opacity of the medium” rather than viewing it solely as a transparent tool for conveying a specific theme, as Greenberg advocated. Greenberg emphasizes that the picture plane itself grows shallower and shallower, flattening out and pressing together the fictive planes of depth until they meet as one upon the real and material plane which is the actual surface of the canvas. In a further stage realistic space cracks and splinters into flat planes which come forward, parallel to the plane surface. He gives an example of cubism which was accomplished along the destruction of realistic pictorial space, and with it, that of the object. Thus, optical illusion arises, not realistic illusion. In Soohyeok Shin's artwork, the thick oil paint's tactile qualities do not merely depict the sky but evoke a substance reminiscent of the sky itself. In 2022, he was invited to the “Square in "Site-specific” exhibition, where he focused on the concept of the square as a perfected proportion explored by humanity, alongside artists like Agnes Martin and Donald Judd.
This reflects an awareness of painting's characteristics, emphasizing both its flatness and geometric symbolism. As an oil painting, it requires intervals for drying between each stroke of vertical/horizontal lines, resulting in overlapping touches that create some tension across the canvas. The partially filled canvas resembles a fontanelle, evoking a sense of breath and openness. Filling the canvas, even with multiple layers up to 10, is achieved using small brushes. From 2017 to 2019, Soohyeok Shin utilized brushes sized 1-2, but currently opts for brushes ranging from size 4 to 8 to enhance the vibrancy of brushstrokes. Soohyeok Shin's “window” is obscured by layers of paint, rather than transparently displaying what lies behind. The canvas, marked by brushstrokes, is considered a record of the passage of time, capturing the breath and movements of a body. There's a transition from emphasizing precise lines with small brushes towards highlighting bodily sensations. Unlike works from the 2010s, which occasionally incorporated rulers resulting in straight lines, the current pieces feature subtly curved lines. This shift represents a journey from structural lines to more natural ones. By rhythmically repeating brushstrokes, the artist discerns the inherent structure of nature.
Soohyeok Shin expresses, “One day, patterns naturally emerged from the structures of nature, becoming palpable before my eyes.” This reflects a harmonious connection with natural processes, rather than a literal representation of nature itself. Both painting and the architecture that fascinated the artist serve as visible and invisible criteria for vertical and horizontal axes, yet these criteria remain not entirely rigid. The earthquake he experienced in Japan exemplifies the fluid nature of architecture, which “aims to be built on the earth's surface.” Uncertainty is inherent not just in technology, but also in science. Science shares similarities with art, as it relies on hypotheses and models. Art has progressively evolved into a more conceptual realm, especially during the modern era, further reinforcing this trend. Shifts towards the autonomy of art have resulted in greater points of intersection. Soohyeok Shin's creations seek to explore the nexus of philosophy, religion, and science. "The forms seen in his recent works as the ongoing process of continuous erosion and replenishment of numerous layers of lines” remind us of a religious devotion (Interview with Morning Calm in 2020). In an age where a comprehensive perspective is not widely embraced, Soohyeok Shin delves into shared perceptions through his ongoing artistic endeavors.

-Lee Seonyoung Art critic

(Source = dategallery)