Seoul-based artist, Kim Jongku, began a two-week residency at CU on February 3. Jongku works in sculpture, video, painting, and photography. Using black, steel powder - the result of an industrial grinding process - he "writes" calligraphic inscriptions on the floor of a pristine, white environment, as if the powder were Chinese ink. Then, using closed-circuit cameras positioned on the floor, Kim projects his constructed vista onto a screen to evoke traditional Korean ink-and-brush painting. While beautiful and evocative to experience, they are the artist's criticism of today's materialistic civilization.
To finish his residency, Jongku will present his work at a number of public events, starting with "Materiality of Transmutation: What Persists and What Projects" on Tuesday, February 11. Beginning at 6:15 p.m., there will be a viewing of Jongku's new artwork in the Visual Arts Complex Lobby (VAC). At 6:40, Jongku will present a performance art piece. This will be followed by an artist lecture at 7:00 in 1B20, the VAC Auditorium, and this will be accompanied by a panel discussion with William Morrow, Denver Art Museum Polly and Mark Addition Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, and Alexander Watkins, Assistant Professor, Art and Architecture Librarian at CU Â鶹¹ÙÍø.
Later that week on Thursday, February 13 at 5:30 p.m., there will be a Curator's Circul Lecture, entitled "The Iron Powder: The Metamorphosis of Steel in Video INstallations & Other Artworks," at the Denver Art Museum. Reservations are required for this event.
Jongku will complete his residency on Friday, February 14 with an opening reception for his Â鶹¹ÙÍø Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition in the foyer of the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall, which will be open to the public until March 30. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., and there will also be a special show-n-tell of Sammy Lee's artist book inspired by the work of Jongku.
