Kim Kichul / Touch

Wednesday 23 December 2009 at 8 pm, Kibela - the opening of the exhibition Touch by the Korean artist Kim Kichul.

For the Korean artist Kim Kichul, sound is the primary formal element of work. And because of the physical aspects of sound – that it cannot be seen and that it acts upon a different part of the brain than does visual media – the artist feels it to be a very expressive method of working. Through his work he is searching for a way to “look” at sound. Kim Kichul denies a typical notion of hearing the sound, and suggests a sound for seeing, which he calls ‘sound sculpture’, by melding the stereoscopic nature of sound into a three dimensional presence. Furthermore, he deals with “Sound Drawing” that can be visualized. He thus wants to show the power that paintings have through sound as well. Whereas a picture leaves trace, sound doesn’t. This is probably the element that differs mostly even though sound and visual media have many similarities. However, the artist's favourite medium to explain sound is water.

Installations by Kim Kichul often feature an interactive element, thus integrating the viewer intensely. During an interaction, the viewer can encounter what the artist feels and intends. “Sound Talking” is one of the examples. We can talk to our own voice, which is different from everyone else's. Furthermore the artists test the sound (voice) activated movement that can translate our mind.

His initial works were made in minimal and simplified forms in terms of the installation method and figuration; the pure form meets pure sound without reproduction or modification. For instance, subtle figures combined with sounds of nature or an indistinct note of a bell to reflect waters of the rain, ocean, valley and forest would touch the imagination of the audience. The artist creates a situation for audiences to have synesthetic experiences of both imagining and seeing through unlimited sound filling in the void rather than utterly phrasing a story behind. In his recent works [Sound Drawing] and [Rapport], Kim invites the audience to make an active interaction of drawing, making sounds and watching movements made by the resonance of their voices.

In Kibela, Kim Kichul will present two of his recent works. The work [Solo, Duet, Trio, Quartet] is a new version of Sound Drawing. The audience can draw with the graphite pencil on the 12 inch records, making the sounds, and it can be changed. [Contact] is sound interaction; as the viewers talk, the handmade dolls move. This work has been made in collaboration with the doll maker E.J.

Solo exhibitions:
2008           Dependent Arising, Center for Integrated Media, Valencia, USA
2007         Sound Looking- Rain, Telic Arts Exchange, Los Angeles, USA
2006         Rapport, Jack Straw New Media Gallery, Seattle, USA
2000         Hae-in, Insa Art Space, Seoul
1998         Not Two, Noksaek Gallery, Seoul
1993         Eleven Faced Kwan-Eum, Crossroad Gallery, Seoul

Group exhibitions (selection):
2009            Multiple Emotion, Sejul Gallery, Seoul
2009            Planet A : Emergence of Species, Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul
2009            Sum bi so ri- Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju
2009            Between the Border- Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju
2009            Alice Museum- Soma Museum of Art, Seoul
2009            Flow, Connect and Change-Lift Conference CICG, Geneve, Switzerland
2008            Lament Project- Viralnet.net USA
2008            Artist, What is Science for you- Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology, Daejeon
2008            Universal Electronic Art- Seongnam Arts Center, Bundang
2008            Isanghangul- Artcenter Nabi, Seoul
2008            thisAbility vs. disability- Total Museum, Seoul
2008            Synthetic Times- 2008 International Media Art China- National Art
Museum of China, Bejing, China
2008            We Want a New Object- David Salow Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2008            Bent Festival- Grand Performances, Los Angeles, USA
2007            Pan Festival- Maum deungbul Gallery, Hayri
2007            Alice Museum- Seoul Arts Center Design Museum, Seoul
2007            Minbak, Arco '07 – Intermediae Matadero, Madrid, Spain
2005            Digital Paradise- Daejeon Metropolitan Museum, Daejeon
2005            The Scenes- Seoul Metropolitan Museum, Seoul
2004            m gallery – Live Bell – SK Telecom Mobile Service, Korea
2004            MAAP'04 Gravity- Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, Singapore
2004            Dreaming Butterfly 2004- Seoul Grand theme park, Gwacheon
2003            Window of communication- Uijeongbu Art Center, Uijeongbu
2002            Re: CORD- MAAP, Australia
2002            New Acquisition- National Contemporary Museum, Gwacheon
2002            VS- Boda Gallery, Seoul
2002            Beyond the Visuality- Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, Busan
2002            Tree Travel, Gallery Hyundai, Seoul
2002            The Planet of Insect- Seoho Gallery, Yangpyung
2001            Sound Design + - Art Center Nabi, Seoul
2001            The alchemy- Sunggok Museum, Seoul
2001          Invisible touch- Art Sonjae Center, Seoul
2001            Emerging 2 - sense and sensibility- Ssamzie Space Gallery, Seoul
2000          Relay Relay- Insa Art Space, Seoul
2000          Reverse Flow- Warehouse, Paju
2000          Media_city Seoul - Youngdungpo Office Subway Station, Seoul
2000          Sculpture Amusement Park- Sunggok Museum, Seoul
2000          Ecole de Seoul- Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul
2000          Entropy-The Arrow of time- Art Center, Seoul
2000          Rabbit and Submarine- Seoul Metropolitan Museum, Seoul

More on the artist: www.kimkichul.com

The exhibition is on view until 5 January 2010.