Jong Oh's artistic practice is quite particular since he does not use a studio but creates minimal sculptures in situ that respond to a given spatial situation. Responding to the nuanced configuration of each site, the artist constructs spatial structures by suspending and interconnecting a limited selection of materials: rope, chains, fishing wire, perspex, wooden and metal rods and painted threads. The elements of the work seem to float, and depending on the spatial relationship of the viewer with it these elements are connected and cross each other or appear as absolutely independent, suggesting additional dimensions to the simple three-dimensional space. Sometimes the threads that suspend these elements are practically invisible and sometimes the artist paints the thread lightly, reinforcing the visual presence of the element. Jong also uses lighting to create his compositions, where real shadows or painted lines by the artist in graphite extend his ethereal structures and favor the effect of optical illusion in a dialogue of lines and planes. His practice defies the traditionally expected assumption in sculpture of dense masses and heavy objects, acting like simple yet complex drawings that point out the particularities of the space they inhabit.
In these paradoxical limits constituted by three-dimensionality and two-dimensionality, consummation and destruction, the spectator's experience becomes a meditation on the whim of human perception. Jong's work is interactive in the sense that the perception and apprehension of each piece by the viewer is achieved only through a deep exploration of it and the negative space resulting from the intervention of the artist.
Oh appeals to the viewer to question their own perception and the way they have to relate to the space that surrounds them, offering a space for meditation and contemplation before the hustle and bustle of contemporary everyday life: a subtle and refined visual haiku about universality and the sound of space.
Jong Oh was born in Mauritania in 1981 and grew up between Spain and South Korea. He currently lives and works in New York, where he graduated in a MFA at the School of Visual Arts after earning his BFA at the Hongik University in Seoul.
Jong has exhibited extensively in the U.S., Korea, Mexico and in Europe. His work belongs to public collections such as the Maxine & Stuart Frankel Foundation in Michigan (US) and the Kablanc Otazu Foundation in Navarra (Spain).
Education
2011 MFA Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts, New York, US
2008 BFA Sculpture, Hongik University, Seoul, KR
Solo shows (selected)
2018 Jong Oh. Marc Straus Gallery. New York, US
2018 Windward. Jochen Hempel Gallery. Berlin, DE
2018 Lodestar, Sabrina Amrani, Madrid, Spain
2016 Jong Oh, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2016 Sotto Voce, UCONN Contemporary Art Galleries, Connecticut, US
2015 Lodestone, Galerie Jochen Hempel, Leipzig, DE
2015 AIR, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, AT
2014 Lodestone, MARSO, Mexico City, MX
2013 Tintinnabulation, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2013 Jong Oh, Galerie Jochen Hempel, Berlin, DE
2012 Jong Oh, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2012 Position, Reposition, Musee Miniscule, Art in General, New York, US
Group shows (selected)
2018 Everyday Is A Good Day. Spiral. Tokyo, JP
2018 Sculpting With Air. DeCordova Museum. Masachussets, US
2017 Between I & Thou, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, New York, US
2017 The White Heat, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2017 You Are A Space, nook Gallery, Seoul, KR
2016 The Global South: Visions and Revisions, Saludarte Foundation, Miami, US
2016 Dialogue, MARSO, Mexico City, MX
2016 The Apotheosis Of The Fish Market, Marc Straus Annex, New York, US
2015 Spaceliner, ARTER, Istanbul, TR
2015 Dealing With Surfaces, GAK, Bremen, DE
2015 Floating And Sinking, Gallery Factory, Seoul, KR
2015 Meeting Point, Korean Cultural Center, Washington DC, US
2015 Barely There, Lesley Heller Workspace, New York, US
2015 Gray Would Be The Color, If I Had A Heart., Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2014 Installation View, Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, DE
2014 On What There Might Not Be, Galería Libertad, Querétaro, MX
2014 Xigue-Xigue, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2014 Extending The Line 3D, C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, US
2014 Along The Lines, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2014 On What There Might Not Be, MARSO, Mexico City, MX
2013 Superposition: Observing Realities, Trinity Museum, New York, US
2013 On Deck, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2013 Tugged, Kabinett, Hannover, DE
2013 Nothing and Everything, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, US
2012 8 Artsits Making Sculpture, BRIC, New York, US
2012 The Itinerary of Mobility and Translation, Korean Cultural Service, New York, US
2012 Divided By Zero, Artgate Gallery, New York, US
2012 Home, The Willows, New York, US
2011 First Look III, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, New York, US
2011 Status! Status! Status!, Interstate Projects, New York, US
2011 Imprecise Geometry, 308 at 156 Project Artspace, New York, US
2011 Fragmentation, Stephan Stoyanov Gallery, New York, US
2011 Urban Legend, Vaudeville Park, New York, US
2010 Subtle Anxiety, Doosan Gallery, New York, US
2010 More and Less, SVA Gallery, New York, US
2009 Base Station 51-18, Orange Gallery, Seoul, KR
2009 Mr. Gubo's Studio, Gyoha Art Center, Paju, KR
2008 Wild Artist Sanctuary, Soop Gallery, Seoul, KR
2007 The Memory of Earth, Jebiwool Museum, Gwacheon, KR
2007 Canada Cool Connected, Embassy of Canada, Seoul, KR
2007 Your Bag & My Bag, 13.1 Gallery, Seoul, KR
Art Fairs
2018 ARCOmadrid. MARSO. Madrid, Spain.
2017 Art Brussels. Marc Straus. Brussels, Belgium.
2017 ARCOmadrid. Marc Straus. Madrid, Spain.
2016 Artissima. MARSO. Torino, Italy.
2016 Expo Chicago. Marc Straus. Chicago, USA.
2015 Artissima. MARSO. Torino, Italy.
2014 Zona MACO. MARSO. Mexico City. Mexico.
Grants, Awards & Residencies
2016 MARSO Residency, MARSO, Mexico City, MX
2014 Krinzinger Residency, Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, AT
2014 Peekskill Waterfornt Project, New York, US
2012 Swing Space Residency, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, US
2012 Grant for Artist in Residence Abroad Program, Arts Council Korea, Seoul, KR
Bibliography
Visual Haikus Giving Shape to Space, Tulika B., On Art And Aesthetics – 2017.
The Apotheosis of the Fish Market at Marc Straus Annex, Jonathan Goodman, Whitehot Magazine – 2017.
Artseen, Taney Roniger, The Brooklyn Rail – 2016.
Luminous Visibility, Robert C. Morgan, World Sculpture News Magazine – 2016.
10 Things to Do in New York's Art World Before February 8, Paul Laster, OBSERVER – 2016.
Jong Oh's Shapes of Perturbation at Marc Straus Gallery, Matilde Soligno, Droste Effect – 2016.
Galleries: Big Brother Is Watching, Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post – 2015.
Arter's New Exhibition Focuses On Lines And Drawings, Kaya Genc, Daily Sabah – 2015.
O는 생각한다 '나는 흑인이고 에스파뇰이고 한국인이고 혼자인 동시에 그들 모두다'라고, 빙앤띵, being and thing – 2015.
Cage Match, Kevin McGarry, ARTFORUM – 2014.
Jong Oh En Marso Galería De Arte Contemporáneo, JF Huerta, ARTINDF – 2014.
La Crítica: Casi Nada, Lorenzo Rocha, Milenio – 2014.
Berlin's Best, 2013, Travis Jeppesen, Art in America – 2013.
Berlin Art Weekend 2013. Focus Su Jong Oh e Oscar Murillo, Valentina Galossi, ARTNOISE – 2013.
Top 10 NYC Artists Now, Katie Cercone, REVOLT Magazine – 2013.
Artseen, Robert C. Morgan, The Brooklyn Rail – 2012.
LMCC hosts open studio weekend at Governor's Island Arts Center, Jennifer Eberhart, Examiner – 2012.
The Voices Emerging From College Studios, Susan Hodara, The New York Times – 2011.
City Life Becomes Art in New Exhibit, Tara Kyle, DNAinfo New York – 2010.