KIM Byoungho: A System

Arario Gallery Seoul Samcheong is pleased to present A System, the solo exhibition by Byoungho Kim, from November 10th to December 28th, 2011.

Since 1999, Byoungho Kim (b. 1974) has been expanding his unique art practice of sound sculpture and sound installation, in which a circuit designed by the artist is inserted into the sculpture made of aluminum, steel and other types of metal, producing shortwave or electrical sounds.

Byoungho Kim’s major works usually take the form of tubes that span out from a point. Thin narrow tubes stick out from heavy solid central body, bending or spreading out in all directions or sometimes in one direction. In any form, the bundles of tubes that stretch out from one center point evoke a very swift sense of movement. This sense of movement is even more emphasized by the metallic material and the smooth surface finishing. The components designed by the artist are exquisitely processed through the engineer to fit the industrial standard system according to the project plan, and in cases where the work needs to be painted, it’s commercially treated. Byoungho Kim’s works where individual components are assembled according to the manual like mass produced commercial product, reflect the contemporary society structure that’s organized through a system of customs, conventions, standards and regulations.
The artist integrates the chip on board with the electrical components in the central core of the work, producing electrical vibrations that produce sound. The sculpture functions as a type of sound converter that produces and changes sound. The sound flowing from the center through the long tubes is an even and consistent continuation of sound without beat. The sound is heard faintly upon approaching the work, arousing the delusion that the sound is always consistently heard from the tubes.

Since his early practice, the artist has drawn a link between his work and ideas like energy, desire and fantasy. The invisible flow of matter in the work is related to the energy that gives off a sense of movement to the work. Despite the emphasis on the hard surface, the flowing form, clear sense of directivity and production of sound accumulate to showing a certain still form of energy that flows. In this exhibition, more systematic and standardized forms of tubes stretch out from the center than in the works of previous exhibitions. The energy emitting out from the tubes stretch out with a much more clear sense of directivity, and the sound-wrapped sculpture enforces a sense of formless space dominated by energy.

Byoungho Kim received his BFA at Hongik University and MFA at Chung-ang University. He has held numerous solo exhibitions including shows at Seoul Olympic Museum of Art and Touchart Gallery in 2010, and many group exhibitions, including one at Museum of Art at Seoul National University. This solo exhibition at Arario Gallery presents an opportunity to meditate on his latest works that have developed from his past sound sculptures.