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*Song of the Water
Time asks the water to play.
The water becomes snow, and a river joins hands with time.
All is the play of time.
The exhausted water after long play comes to a stone and brags.
I can be anything.
A stone looks away pretending not to hear.
The water is left alone and looks up at the sky.
It opens up and shows its heart to the stars and the moon.
Starlight comes to the water and plays.
Moonlight comes to the water and plays.
Starlight, at last, comes to the water and becomes a white glass ball,
And moonlight comes to the water and becomes a blue glass ball.
Everything in the world comes to the water,
Becomes a glass ball,
And each glass ball cherishes all the dreams of the world inside its body.
- Jong-yuen Ahn’s Essay
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About Artist
Glass Balls and Shadow Play
You are now on a spaceship flying through space.
Open the door of the spaceship and decisively step outside,
And then open your eyes wide,
As the galaxy unfolds beneath your feet.
Big and small stars come to talk to you, glowing, seeming to burn themselves up.
You don't need to ask about the names of the stars.
Stars didn't have names at the beginning of the world. Each star is just a fragment of the big bang, nothing but evidence of that.
Once you are used to the darkness, you can read the memories engraved in the hearts of the little stars.
Flapping seagulls that just flew over a seaside cliff, The flesh of a calm half buried in the sand,
Comb-tooth patterns that used to glow like a kaleidoscope, or the very stiff stairs of a temple,
They can be your memories or Ahn, Jong Yuen's.
All artworks exist in a world that discloses the deposited layers of the artist' memories.
Ahn, Jong Yuen is not an exception. As I remember, she has held onto her childhood memories since her first exhibition:
A neighbor's old workshop, an abandoned ship, a piece of cloth from her mother's sewing kit,
an old wooden box which seemed to come from the closet of an empty Japanese house.
Now she must be obsessed with playing marbles.
The lines and air bubbles in the glass balls could never have been achieved by chance.
They are the result of the artist's carefully thought-out plan.
The light and shadow created by the glass balls make even the walls and ceiling her canvas.
She seems to be concentrating on play, with the shadows spreading from the glass balls, bending her back just like a child.
The artist's search for aesthetics is persistent. I guess that she was born that way.
Now I am curious about her tomorrow, which will be one step forward, standing on the scrutiny.
I expect it will be deeper and far-off.
- Min-sook Kim (Novelist)
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Biography
Jong-yuen Ahn(1952-)
1952 Born in Myrang, Korea
E-mail jongyuen@yahoo.com
Webpage http://www.ahnjongyuen.com/eng/
Education
1992 M.F.A., School of Visual Arts, New York, U.S.A
1989-90 B.F.A., School of Visual Arts, New York
1970-72 B.F.A., Dong-a University, Busan, Korea
Solo Exhibitions
2004 IHN Gallery, Seoul
2001 Kongkan Gallery, Busan
2000 IHN Gallery, Seoul
1995 Park, Ryu-Sook Art Gallery, Seoul
1989 Gana Gallery, Seoul
1986 Seoul Gallery, Seoul Press Center or Yee-Mock Gallery, Taegu
1981 Hee Gallery, Seoul or Won Gallery, Busan
Group Exhbitions
2004 ‘The waves’ Ahn Jong Yuen, Roh Sang Dong, Lee Jae Hyo/ Dosi Gallery, Busan
2003 21C Korean Contemporary Art- The horizon of expectation / Sun Gallery, Seoul
2003 Environmental Art ‘Water’/ Seoul Museum of art
2001 Environmental Art ‘Water’/ Seoul Museum of art
2000 ‘Space Odyssey’ / Sungsan Art Hall
2000 Seoul Art Fair 2000 (Represented Kongkan Gallery) / Art Museum at Seoul Art Center
1997 The Young Spirit Exhibition: Kwangju Biennale Special Exhibition
1996 New Spirit for Painting: Anti-Plane Surface Inside Plane Surface Exhibition /Songkok Gallery, Seoul
1994 Visions in Between Exhibition / McGraw-Hill Building, New York
1993 Visions in Between Exhibition / Fukuyama Museum, Japan; sponsored by Ise Art Foundation, New York A Life in Six Episodes / Korean Culture Center, New York
1992 Thesis Show / Visual Arts Gallery, New York
1986 Figuration Critique Exhibition / Grand Palais, Paris
1978 Asia Contemporary Art Exhibition, Tokyo
Public Collection
Ho-Am Art Museum, Youngnam university, Saehan Group, Samsung Electronics, Hana Bank, LG Group Building, Songeun foundation, Arario Museum, Haitai Building, Lock Museum etc.
Works in Collections
2004 Installation of Environmental sculpture at Dongyang Paragon, Seoul
2003 Environmental sculpture at Lake Hills Golf Club, Jeju Environmental sculpture at Jungbu Market, Seoul Environmental sculpture of Korea National Housing Corporation Permanent Installation ‘Stars, the Earth & People’ at Hotel Jeju Paradise
2001 Wall Sculpture at Bakam Vista Golf Club House, Icheon
2000 Sculpture at National Cancer Center, Ilsan
1999 Environmental Sculpture at Kyobo Insurance Building, Sanggye-dong, Seoul Installation Work at Dr. Suh, Jae-Pil Memorial Park, Bosung, Jeon-Nam Mobile Work in the Lobby of Samsung Insurance Building, Jongro, Seoul Environmental Sculpture at Lakeville, Cheongwon
1998 Wall Sculpture, Shinhan River Town, Seoul
1997 Outdoor Installation Work, 2nd Kwangju Biennale Sculpture at Technomart 21 (Prime Industry), Seoul
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