Press Release: Koo Jeong-a

New Works: 03.2
07.10.03

New Works: 03.2

July 10 ?ptember 14, 2003

Spencer Finch New York, New York

Koo Jeong-a Seoul, Korea

Erick Swenson Dallas, Texas

Selected by Daniel Birnbaum

About the Artist

A train ride away from Koo Jeong-a's family home in Seoul, Korea, an eight-
hundred-year-old frog lives in the side of a mountain. Over a number of years
Koo traveled four times to its mythic home, but the golden creature would not
appear. Despite not having lain eyes on it, she knew it was there: Koo
defended its existence to friends who came but did not see and protected its
ancient status from scientific naysayers. Her constant belief was finally
rewarded: on a fifth trip the wrinkled being emerged.

Koo's ephemeral installations suggest rewards for the constant
believers? those with unwavering confidence in the existence of alternate
realities. She breathes life into the usually inert, creating miniature worlds
through ordered scatterings of such everyday material as aspirin, sugar
cubes, cigarettes, and light.

In A Reality Upgrade & End Alone (2003), Koo's piece for the 50th
Venice Biennale, she carved out a space for subtlety in the midst of
insistent politics. The artist brought the upper regions of two walls alive by
embedding prismatic buttons into their cracks and crevices. These
constellations sparkled with hope and made visible the state of in-
betweenness: the realms that could be? for Koo are?ered all around
us.

Koo Jeong-a was born in Seoul, Korea in 1967. In 1992 she began
studying at L'Ecole Nationale SupŽrieure des Beaux-arts, Paris, France, and
has been based there since. She has had solo exhibitions at Wiener
Secession, Vienna, Austria (2003); CCA, Kitakyushu, Japan (2002); and
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, France (2003, 2001, 1999). Her group
exhibitions include the 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2003); Hugo
Boss Prize Short List Exhibition, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
(2002); and Manifesta 3, Ljublijana, Slovenia (2000).

About the Project

Upon arriving at ArtPace for her residency Koo Jeong-a set to work?
rather than giving shape to a physical object, much of her time was spent
creating the conditions necessary to make a piece. For her the process has
been similar to sowing the seeds of an unknown flower: she tills and waters
and then hopes for the best. Here the substitute for water has been isolation.
Koo's first move was to close off her studio space (now the exhibition space)
from all visitors. She locked one entrance, and just inside the other built a
wall breached only by a Koo-sized mouse hole. After creating this safe haven
in which to think, she set out to get to know Texas. Her travels took her
West?places surrounded by an aura of otherworldliness: ghost towns and
the "mysterious" lights of Marfa. One the stuff of tall tales, the other a
scientific anomaly.

According to Koo the installation that has emerged out of her residency
reflects her time here; not only what she has discovered, but also the support
ArtPace has given her to discover it. Here she has had much-needed space
to breathe?review the past and look toward the future, and in her work
both are represented.

While the wall and mouse hole served a utilitarian purpose during her
residency, they remain even after she has gone. The wall and hole not only
become the main passageway, but also a substantial element of her
installation. This move, a potent and economical gesture, conjures up Alice in
Wonderland-like possibilities of other dimensions and cuts to the chase in a
way the understated works from her past have not. The wall could be thought
of as a bridge arcing over her residency at ArtPace?hints at isolation,
exploration, alternate realities, and the comforts of a cocoon. Koo's wall/hole
might also be thought of as a transition from what was to what could be.

Exhibition Dates

July 10 ?ptember 14, 2003

Opening Reception

Thursday, July 10, 2003, 6:30-8:30 PM

Artists' Dialogue

Friday, July 11, 6:30-8:00 PM

Featuring Spencer Finch, Koo Jeong-a, and Erick Swenson. Moderated by
Daniel Birnbaum, Curator and Director of StŠdelschule Art Academy and
Portikus Gallery in Frankfurt, Germany.

Brown Bag Lunch

Wednesday, August 6, 2003, 12:00-1:00 PM

Join us for a tour of New Works: 03.2 and a brown bag lunch provided by
Pecan Street Deli. Please call ArtPace to make reservations.

Event Locations

All events held at ArtPace, 445 N. Main Avenue. Free parking at Flores
Street and Savings. ArtPace is open to the public Wednesday thru Sunday,
12-5pm, Thursday until 8pm and by appointment. There is no charge for
admission.

About ArtPace

ArtPace, A Foundation for Contemporary Art | San Antonio serves as an
advocate for contemporary art and as a catalyst for the creation of significant
art projects. We seek to nurture emerging and established artists and to
provide opportunities for inspiration, experimentation and education. Through
our International Artist-in-Residence Program, we invite nine artists annually
to participate in a two-month residency which supports the evolution of new
ideas in art. Our broad range of panels, lectures, artist talks and studio visits
cultivates diverse audiences for contemporary art and provides a forum for
ongoing dialogue.

445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org