Page 6 - 김연식 초대전 2023. 9. 28 – 10. 7 갤러리모나리자산촌

Swap – The Aesthetics of Transition Realizing Random Acts

Art critic, Sung-Ho KIM

I. Prologue
Jeongsan Kim Yeonsik presents five exhibitions this year, each like a symphony composed of multiple movements, under the
grand theme of Indiramang (因陀羅網). He emphasizes the essence contained in this topic by representing the Chinese word
"Indiramang" as "Indra," which closely approximates the Sanskrit original pronunciation. It is structured as follows: Movement
I - The Infinite World Inside a Cup (May), Movement II - Waves and Particle Drives (June), Movement III - Swap (September to
October), Movement IV - Moon, Wind, and Clouds (November to December). For this exhibition, Jeongsan introduces the theme
of "Swap" for Movement III. Swap commonly means "to exchange (something) for something else," "to share (stories, etc.)," or
"to alternate (tasks, etc.)" according to its dictionary definition. "Swap," encapsulating meanings such as transformation, sharing,
mutual communication, and exchange, serves as the starting point for understanding Jeongsan's recent works. What is it exactly?

II. Swap – ‘Transition from Fullness to Emptiness’ or Sharing
The facets of abstract painting showcased by Jeongsan in this exhibition are diverse. His abstraction ranges from expressionist
abstracts with heightened blur and marbling effects, to material-focused abstracts where the paint material envelops the canvas
in an anchormel abstract, and even monochromatic abstraction featuring sporadic bubbles left on the canvas surface or broad
strokes resembling rapid brushwork.
Notably, there is a series of shared points in his various types of abstractions. It is rooted in his attitude towards painting, which he
names "Swap," and the various creative methodologies that stem from it. To him, "Swap" is represented as a form of "transition"
or "sharing." It involves an ongoing interaction with the canvas within a series of creative acts, guiding the canvas through
transformation alongside sharing. Specifically, it takes shape by applying acrylic paint, often mixed with various mediums,
generously onto the canvas as a form of "filling," followed by the realization of "emptiness" through methods like erasing,
stamping, or wiping it away using various tools.
Here, the term "medium" encompasses not only traditional painting tools, like brushes replaced by paper business cards, plastic
cards, or butter knives, but also materials such as vinyl and thin silk paper. These objects, often of varying thicknesses and
materials, collectively serve to achieve the aesthetics of "emptiness" by removing or wiping away paint in a subtractive manner,
regardless of whether they are sturdy or flexible in nature.
Paintings that create ripples and valleys around intricate boundaries with different colors at their core often achieve these effects
by using methods such as paper business cards, plastic cards, or butter knives to manipulate the flow of paint on the canvas. This
creative process can be likened to molten magma piercing through the layers of thick earth to create a fiery, sparkling canvas or to
a waterfall cascading from a canyon, encountering solid rocks and carving its path down, resulting in a delightful depiction.
In another type of work, paint strokes extend vertically and horizontally from the center of the canvas like a decalcomania, usually
created by placing thin silk paper on a partially dried paint surface and then pulling it away from the center, causing the paint to
smear. What about the wide brushstrokes in monochromatic abstraction? They are achieved by wiping away the canvas surface
where the paint has not fully dried, almost as if stealing it with vinyl.
Jeongsan's work involves erasing while simultaneously leaving traces. More precisely, it is a transition from "filling" to "emptiness,"
a process that embodies the aesthetics of interaction and sharing with the canvas as in a "swap" – giving something and
exchanging it for something else – while facing the canvas.

III. The Intersection of Necessity and Chance in “Random Acts”
Jeongsan's Swap series often encapsulates the intensity of erupting fireballs or surging waves within their dynamic canvases.
However, at times, they also contain a serene atmosphere reminiscent of gazing at the surface of a tranquil lake or evoke the
barrenness of dry land. They are compositions that blend abundance and absence. Superficially, they can be read as inexhaustible
signs (signifiants) devoid of any signified meaning, like linguistic texts. Furthermore, they are traces of an unknown identity that
only leave faint imprints of reading. They are both the spectral loss of utility in reading and the transformation of phantasmal

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