Prints, Printmaking, Graphic Art

Prints, Printmaking, Graphic Art attempts to expand mediums and strengthen the balance between genres. The exhibition sheds light on Korean contemporary print, a genre that needs to be rediscovered in the flow of Korean art history. With its long past, print in Korea has always been assessed as a discipline with unique characteristics, particularly from the 1960s to the 1990s when diverse printmaking methods and techniques of the genre were developed and printmaking began to be celebrated as a dynamic, experimental medium. However, it is also undeniable that in the flood of other mediums and fields of contemporary art such as media art and interdisciplinary art in 2000s, Korean contemporary print has been losing its footing. This exhibition brings together works by artists who mainly work with the print medium, and sheds an intensive light on “print” as a special genre, medium, concept and situation.

Prints, Printmaking, Graphic Art largely consists of 4 sections: “Book store,” “Street,” “Studio” and “Platform.” Borrowing the terms and traits of places we are familiar with in our surrounding, the exhibition looks at the past and future of print through the concept of space. Meanwhile, the title of the exhibition attempts to capture the unique nature of plurality in printmaking. It also reflects the intention of the exhibition to focus on and explore print, a medium that’s universal yet comparatively unfamiliar to most, a medium with its own matchless allure, and a medium that will continue to develop through artistic concepts and techniques. The exhibition hopes to reconfirm the values of printmaking as a genre, and to form an expansive bond of understanding to continue to explore the possibility of a genre that’s often alienated.

Book store
Printmaking has always been closely related to the print culture since its onset due to the characteristics of the medium which involves engraving on the plate and printing it onto paper. This quality is what makes printmaking a form of art that’s relatively close to the everyday life of people. “Book store” explores the point of interaction between printmaking and printing culture, introducing various works from artist books which reinterpret the “book” as an art form, to conceptual and digital art pieces that expand the concept of books, and print illustration books and their original plates.

Street
Printmaking functions as a type of medium that can effectively deliver and spread the artist’s message, due to its accessibility and possibility to replicate and distribute. “Street” presents prints that actively reflect social issues of reality, including the Minjung woodcut prints of 1980s in Korea. Works in this section send strong waves of resonance in the viewers, strengthened by the intense expressions found in the prints that capture a full array of social landscapes, from the cruel oppression and absurdities of reality to the intimate familiarity and simplicity of everyday life.

Studio
Printmaking is a practice which demands both artistic sensibility and technical expertise from the artist. Different techniques are required depending on the diverse types of printmaking, from lithography, copperplate, woodcut and silkscreen. The print has its own unparalleled beauty that’s found in no other mediums, with its unique and elaborate process of making a plate, applying ink on the plate, then printing the plate onto paper. “Studio” displays works by print artists and demonstrate how they research and develop various printmaking methods as a means to express and expand their own distinct world of art.

Platform
This section sheds light on print at the forefront of contemporary art. A place where works unfold, confront and connect with each other, “Platform” shows expanding trajectories of the medium, from printmaking to drawing, installation and sculpture. The section displays works by Korean contemporary artists who newly interpret the sensibility and potential of the print medium, such as works of other genres which retain the traits of print, and other works that explore the practice of printmaking itself as a site of experimentation.