This presentation will mark Ghenie’s first solo show in Asia and coincide with the inaugural edition of Frieze Seoul. Presented in the main gallery space of Pace’s Seoul arts complex, the show—spread across two floors of exhibition space—will include 28 variously sized charcoal drawings that reflect Ghenie’s experimentations in mark-making and figuration.

Ghenie, whose practice spans painting, drawing, and collage, is best known for his lush oil paintings of figures in layered, cinematic works that mine visual, political, and social histories, including those of his native Romania.Over the last five years, Ghenie has often employed the art of a particular genre or era as a starting point to develop a new body of work. He creates a kind of conflict between the story of that period and his own autobiography—this wrestling match between stories and narratives is mediated by his strokes and swathes of rich, blended colour and luxurious impasto. The result is a dreamscape of visceral, distorted images layered with renditions of collaged elements and unfinished gestures.

Ghenie has now added charcoal drawing to his repertoire, and this forthcoming presentation with Pace in Seoul will be his first exhibition devoted entirely to the medium. The works in the show examine banal and sometimes grotesque figures engaged in the most typical actions of a technological society, marrying the tradition of Otto Dix and George Grosz to a contemporary vision of people obsessed with their cell phones, masked with N95s, or idly fidgeting with remote controls as they surrender to their televisions.

Beyond this handling and interpretation of the subject matter, the medium itself presents a unique challenge. The artist has devised a new process for using charcoal, almost in the manner of old master prints. He bends the dry, unforgiving charcoal to his will, achieving the liquid, sensuous imagery for which he is known.

Pace’s exhibition of Ghenie’s new body of works on paper in Seoul reflects its commitment to spotlighting its robust, international contemporary program at its expanded arts complex in the Korean capital. A Korean translation of the artist’s recent book The Hooligans—produced by Pace Publishing, the gallery’s imprint—will be available to view and purchase in the new Osulloc Tea House, which opens at the Seoul gallery complex on the occasion of the Frieze art fair in the city. In addition to serving locally produced teas and Korean-tea infused cocktails, the Osulloc Tea House will host rotating displays of prints, editions, and multiples as well as titles from Pace Publishing.