P21's presentation at Taipei Dangdai offers a window into Seoul's current contemporary art scene, delving into existential questions about Korean society that are relevant on a global scale. Central to this notion and at the physical center of the booth is Keem Jiyoung's red triptych, an important part of her Glowing Hour series. Glowing Hour meditates on recent social catastrophes such as the Sewol Ferry sinking and the national protests that led to the impeachment of the former president. By using a candle flame as the subject matter, Keem explores how such disasters are caused and how their effects ripple through society. Choi Jeong Hwa's eponymous totems, Alchemy and Alchemy no.2 (both 2023), offer a playful contemplation on reverence and consumption. These works, a critical part of Choi's multidisciplinary practice, blend familiar forms of everyday objects with molded plastic to create something entirely new. By doing so, they raise questions about the materials we use and interact with daily, as well as our personal tastes and aesthetic sensibilities. Choi Haneyl's H1 (black ver.) (2022), You (2021), and Mingyu Lee (2021), all employ sculpture motifs and cultural symbolism to create a critical language that questions identity politics, consumer culture, and the epistemological codes and critical discourse of sculpture as a medium. Through these works, Choi creates radical visions that offer a view beyond the status quo.
Seven artists total have been selected for P21's presentation at Taipei Dangdai. These artists span multiple generations and different mediums. Choi Jeong Hwa (b. 1961) is a multidisciplinary artist with an established and playful lexicon that moves between the disciplines of sculpture, industrial design, and architecture. Keem Jiyoung (b. 1987) is a painter who zeros in on the structural problems behind social disasters and the relationship between individuals and society. Haneyl Choi (b. 1991) primarily works with sculpture to dissect normative societal structures and identity, and the discipline of sculpture itself. Eunsil Lee (b. 1983) utilizes Korean traditional painting to unravel and relect ideas of desires, taboos, conflicts, and cultural dichotomies. So Young Park, (b. 1971) is an oil painter who creates ethereal and dream-like landscapes that exist in a realm between reality and imagination. Hyun Nahm (b. 1990) creates sculptural miniascapes that meld together different materials and result in other worldly landscapes. Lastly, SuYeon Kim (b. 1986) is an oil painter translates specific weather phenomenon into specific objects on the canvas to explore the intricate and emotional relationship between humans and nature. Together this selection of artists provide a complex and intimate glimpse into the current contemporary art scene and wider social and cultural trends.****