at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art

- Title : Ancient Future-Contemporary Korean Artists Evoking the Past 
- Date : February 7 - March 23, 2019 
- Opening Reception : Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 6:00pm
- Place : Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art 
in Cal State University San Bernardino
5500 University Pkwy. San Bernardino, CA 92407
- Artists: Whi Boo Kim, Yong Sin, Kwang-Seop Oh, David Jang
- Presenter : Korean Cultural Center LA (KCCLA) & Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art(RFFMA) 
- More Information : raffma.csusb.edu / www.kccla.org

"Encounter Silla, a thousand year-old kingdom that dreamt of eternity."

Korean Cultural Center LA (KCCLA) & Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RFFMA) will host a special exhibition called, "ANCIENT FUTURE: Contemporary Korean Artist Evoking the Past" which will take place from February 7th to March 23rd, 2019 at RFFMA, located at 5500 University Pkwy. San Bernardino, CA 92407. 

Once upon a time in Korea, there was Silla, a thousand-year-old kingdom that dreamt of eternity. Every morning, the kingdom awoke to the sight of a splendid ocean rimmed with sunlight and relaxed in the calm presence of undulating mountains. Inspired by their serene surroundings, the inhabitants created beautiful ceramic works. Centuries later, these works have been reimagined by contemporary Korean art of the twenty-first century. Through these arts, the past reaches out and touches upon the present. 

Simplicity, spontaneity, and a strong connection to nature make Korean art distinctive and captivating. Korean artists traditionally appreciated the plainness of their materials and the naturalness of their patterns. With beauty and humble elegance, they strove to reveal the most fundamental characteristics of their materials. Korean potters were especially adept at reworking nature through art, producing stunning minimalist ware that displayed a delightful fluency of line and shape.

Today’s artists of Korea are still very much connected to that tradition. Even though they live outside of Korea and have expanded their formal repertoire and language, their strong bond with the past can be sensed at many different levels. This exhibition features several objects from the museum’s collection of Korean gray-ware ceramics alongside selected works by four contemporary Korean artists who, by working in various genres and mediums, evoke or reference the past?whether consciously or not.

The four artists featured in the exhibition are David B. Jang, Kwang Seop Oh, Yong Sin, and Whi Boo Kim. David Jang sees the industrial society as a living organism, comprised of millions of organic existences. Kwang Seop Oh’s bronze sculptures, reminiscent of theatrical settings, tell stories that are deeply rooted in the artist’s relationship to nature. Yong Sin’s art displays a process that is both linear and transparent. Her works are visually recognizable but contain a shifting perspective: the simple becomes unexpectedly elaborate; the ordinary, distinctive. Whi Boo Kim’s paintings from the “Geo Series” (made from materials collected from houses destroyed by the Northridge earthquake) emphasize the unique nature of wood and its labor process, and seek humanity in the product of mechanical labor. 

The exhibition is a collaboration between RAFFMA and the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles.