Jeongsu Woo unfolds the images derived from exuberant narratives on his picture-screen. His extensive thinking experienced and trained through books stands out. Woo has been widening his views overlooking the society and the lives of humans by diligently studying various genre of books such as mythology, folktale, religious representations, and philosophy. Woo portrays the impotent feeling towards the substantial structure of society and the absurdity of the world comically or as bizarre sceneries. Recently, the artist is attempting to adjust his subjects and expressions by bringing in the concept of a ‘stroller (Flâneur)’ in his oeuvre. If he concentrated in conveying a narrative in his earlier works, Woo emphasizes the qualities of painting by choosing a rather loose composition and using impulsive brushstrokes in his recent works.
Woo titled the chain of series presented in this exhibition with ‘protagonist,’ foreshadowing a protagonist with a tragic fate. He also choreographs a paradoxical situation by portraying an attack of a giant squid or placing a mischief smiley face on the picture-screen. The Protagonist_Rose Pink (2018) series depict a small ship drifting in the violently billowing ocean. The distinctive pink picture-screen and the black lines created through rapid brushstrokes intensely contrasts with one another. The thin and impotent image of the ship that entirely exposes the background color is unbroken and holds up against the billows by adhering flatly to the surface of the paint. It seems that the artist projects his own portrait to the disastrous and wondrous situation within the picture-screen.
Jeongsu Woo was born in Seoul, 1986. He received his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in the School of Visual Art, Korea National University of Arts in 2010 and 2015 respectively. He has held solo exhibitions at institutions such as Kumho Museum of Art (Seoul), OCI Museum of Art (Seoul), Project Space SARUBIA (Seoul), and more. He also participated in group exhibitions at institutions such as Sungkok Art Museum (Seoul), Art Center White Block (Paju, Korea), Doosan Art Center (Seoul), and more. He recently participated in the 12th Gwangju Biennale: Imagined Borders (2018) and presented his works to countless international audiences. He has been a participant of MMCA Residency Goyang (Goyang, Korea). He has been acclaimed for being nominated for Kumho Young Artist (2017, Kumho Museum of Art) and OCI Young Creatives (2016, OCI Museum of Art). His works are a part of prominent institutions’ collections such as Government Art Bank, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon, Korea), Kumho Museum of Art (Seoul), and OCI Museum of Art (Seoul). He is currently living and working in Seoul.
