What clay tells us
Nakahara Yusuke, Art Critic, Japan
Relation, 280x25x20cm, 1972, Clay
I think that Shim Moon-seup is known in the Japanese art scene to some extent by now. So far, he has held three solo exhibitions in Tokyo, and presented his works in an exhibition entitled Glimpse of Korean Contemporary Art and Asian Contemporary Art. He also presented a stone sculpture in the 2nd Henry Moore Grand Prize for Sculpture and earned an award for excellence. Now, he is presenting another solo exhibition, the fourth of its kind, and his focus is clay As mentioned earlier, he presented stone works for the Henry Moore Grand Prize: his works for the Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition were in wood and he presented works using hemp and iron for his other solo exhibitions. The artist may sound like a person who touches several different materials and lacks consistency, but the truth is quite the contrary: he is consistent in pursuing the theme of opening up, while using various materials. This is to say that Shim Moon-seup’s motif of works shows no fundamental change at all.
Shim Moon-seup is calling the exhibition opening up in English. That suggests he is drawing something that is hiding inside to the outside, or, it can be understood as an expression of something that is inherent in an object. His works explain the reasons why he chose this title. If I compare him to
a cook, he is using raw materials as they are, instead of boiling or frying. Using something raw means a maximum control on processing. Shim Moon-seup’s attitude to creation is to stay away from artificial techniques as much as he can, in order to help materials to present their own nature by themselves. In dealing with wooden or stone materials, he cut a part of rectangular lumber or a piece of stone and changed the position slightly from the section of cutting. With this level of treatment, wood and stone expose their original natures, which we could not see before.
At an Exhibition of ten artists in Seoul in November 1981 Shim Moon-seup presented works that he created with clay I happened to have a chance to see several works that he made by wrestling with this new material, yet with the same motif of opening up, and I was deeply touched by the new sensation developed. He created works by cutting, bending and breaking clay that was yet to dry and I felt that those works were more of a production of natural power than of human techniques. In terms of techniques, what he used can be categorized in the baking of black lead.
Relation, 150x90x90cm, 1972, Earth, Pipe
It can be said that Shim Moon-seup is putting a limit to his role in the process of creation as an assistant. The lead player is wood, stone and clay How can I amplify the language of clay? The artist seems to be focusing his interests on this question. It deserves further attention, whether this is a tendency that clearly appears among Korean artists alone or not.
The Presentation-From Earth, 364x163x93cm, 2009, Stone clay, Water, Light
Thoughts on Clay, Size variable, 1980-1990, Stone clay