etoy.CORPORATION
31 August – 7 November 2010
Kunsthalle Gwangju
13 Gwangsan-Dong · Dong-Gu
Gwangju 123-456 · South Korea
tel: +82 62 236 0730-3 fax: -5
www.kunsthalle-gwangju.com
OPENING EXHIBITION etoy.CORPORATION
“LEAVING REALITY BEHIND…”
As a part of the project “Hub City of Asian Culture” KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU gives a preview on the cultural program and development to come with the completion of the Asian Culture Complex in the city of Gwangju. KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU is an art project itself. The concept and program involves artists, visitors and the team to interact with each other. This creates new questions, interesting tensions and inspiring moments. As a social sculpture the art is created by the existence of this venue and its interaction with the people.
KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU will introduce artists and projects that connect art and society and intervene in art-related and cultural developments. Swiss artist group etoy, which will present all its main works at KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU’s opening, is an outstanding example of an artists’ collective that constantly works on issues relevant to society, thus changing our perception of its technological and political conditions. Over the course of 16 years etoy has consistently pushed the boundaries of art, even turning itself into a corporation, etoy.CORPORATION, with information age longtime insider Joichi Ito as one of the biggest shareholders.
etoy’s projects are technologically sophisticated yet accessible to the public. They often invite to participate and become integral part of their work. However broad the conceptual range of etoy’s projects is, they are all aimed at intervening in relevant techno-cultural discourses of their time. Its projects are designed to have an impact on important issues in technologically advanced societies. etoy’s strength lies in combining critical reflection of contemporary technoculture with technologically advanced solutions to address neuralgic points.
While each of etoy’s projects opens a world of questions about the relation of human life, both on the individual and collective level, and technological systems, it is only possible to understand etoy’s impact as pioneers between art, technology and the social sphere when considering the whole body of their works. Even if their way of developing and realizing projects is highly conceptual and sometimes cryptic, it always offers connection points for non-specialists to be attracted to and be drawn into their world. It is this non-elitist, open conception of art that makes etoy the perfect candidate to present its works at the opening of KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU – art as an open, participatory form of communication with society that does not hesitate to intervene.
If you want to learn more about the main projects of etoy.CORPORATION, exhibited in KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU, please visit www.etoy.com.
grand opening: 31 august 2010, 7 pm
opening program: opening of etoy exhibition, performance by etoy, with djs etoy.STYRO and etoy.PLAYLOVE
press preview: 31 august 2010, 11 am
exhibition period: 31 august – 7 november
opening hours: tue – sun, 10 am – 7 pm
hosted by: ministry of culture, sports and tourism, office for hub city of asian culture
organized by: PLATOON KUNSTHALLE, gwangju international center
supported by: Pro Helvetia, Swiss Embassy Seoul, lista office, BERNINA, Liip
address of KUNSTHALLE GWANGJU:
13 Gwangsan-Dong · Dong-Gu
Gwangju 123-456 · South Korea
tel: +82 62 236 0730-3 fax: -5
www.kunsthalle-gwangju.com
Press Contact:
PLATOON KUNSTHALLE
97‑22 Nonhyeon‑dong · Gangnam-gu
135‑010 Seoul · South Korea
tel: +82 2 3447 119‑1 fax: ‑8
www.kunsthalle.com
mail@kunsthalle.com
