NA JEOM SOO

In his journey as an artist over the past 30 years, Na Jeomsoo has explored the landscape, air, and soil of different parts of the world. His experiences have become the driving force for the artist’s constant creativity. He uses non-traditional materials to capture his deep reflections on continuity and limitations in his works. Na Jeomsoo transformed the gallery’s West Hall to create an atmosphere in which you can meet his works. Visitors can breathe the energy of the works and experience the artist’s vision.

The ‘position of matter’, which is the leitmotif of Na Jeomsoo’s work, is a means to understand the traces of life and time. The concept takes account of the possibilities and limitations of language and structural expression. Rather than seeking meaning in the progression of time, it allows him to fully accept the objects of nature in their current time and state of existence.

_“Even when seeing and feeling the same strand of straw, the experience differs between each individual. However, once you start seeing it as a state, meaning arises from that moment.” _

“If you can hear the sound of water drying in this lump of earth, you can see the essence without prejudice.”

Based on this point of view, Na Jeomsoo allows the existence of nature and the spirit of matter to remain in his works. He seeks to explore the limitations of common classifications and representations and introduce new ways of thinking beyond them.

Na Jeomsoo’s abstract sculptures cover a wide spectrum, from thin sheets of paper to works made of logs that appear as if they have grown in the exhibition space itself. The physical properties of matter, which show no trace of bonding, contain within them all the time it took for it to be placed in front of us in various forms. The surface, every single strand vibrant with life, embodies the tension of thousands of saws, tens of thousands of chisels, and the original source of the material. The art of Na Jeomsoo implies multi-layered connections. His works include the concepts of nature and human beings, the cycle of life, limitations of memory and expression, and language and truthfulness. The extraordinary sensitivity of his materials is austere and minimalistic yet resonates power. Na Jeomsoo’s unique approach and way of expression invites personal interpretation, providing inspiration and new perspectives on our lives.