* Artist's Statement

I can stand on the surface of the earth with the force of gravity. There is nothing in the world that makes me feel comfortable except the fact of being with the force of gravity. Also, I remain aware of the presence of indicators on the earth due to my weight. I would sometimes like to throw off the weight of daily life and the urge to fly while standing on the earth with my weight. And I am a person in the world with a dream to be an existence beyond gravity.
In this exhibition, it shows this awareness of the contradiction regarding the power of gravity. The inverted triangle can stand alone with the additional weight of the stands by holding the balance. Il resembles a person, who stands up and walks on the street with their weight. And, a balloon with a cube is heading toward the sky. There are also works hanging on the wall.
Things are visualized by my works as the result of consideration regarding the relationship of gravity in order to present the most spectacular effects of gravity, such as unstable balancing, unbalancing, soaring and crashing. Some works use only the physical power of gravity without using a combined approach, like welding, adhesive or screws.


Education
2001      University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne, Ph. D of Fine Art, France
2000      School of Fine Art in Rennes, DNSEP, France
1996      University of Rennes II Haute Bretagne, M.F.A., France
1993      University of Won-Kwang, B.F.A. Majoring in Sculpture, Korea

Solo Exhibition
2020      Reality and Imagination, 2 person exhibition, Lina Gallery, Seoul
2018      Daecheongho Sculpture Park Project, Up and away, Cheongju Daecheongho Art Museum, Cheongju
2014      Gravity Mass, Palais de Seoul, Seoul
2012      Gravity-Up, KAIST Research & Art Gallery, Seoul
2011      Gravity-Inclined Landscape, Ujung Art Center, Seoul
2010      Gravity-Unbalanced Standing, Grimson Gallery, Seoul
2008      Gravity, Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul
2007      Laputa II, Lagalerie, Paris, France
2007      Laputa, Espace Icare, Issy Les Moulineaux, France
2005      Salon MAC 2000, Espace Champerret, Paris, France
2002      Balance Instable/Play Divine, MJC Center of Culture, Sceaux, France
2002      Life is Hanging by a Thread. Lagalerie, Paris, France
2002      Multi media 3 (Gravity/Lightness), Donzé Van Saanen, Lausanne, Suisse
2001      Suspend Time, Le Grand Cordel Gallery, Rennes, France

Art Fair
2024      Context MIAMI.  USA
2024      AAF Singapore. USA
2024      AAF new york. USA
2024      Seattle art fair. USA
2024      AAF Hong Kong Hong Kong
2024      San Francisco Art Fair USA
2024      LA Art Show USA
2023      Context Miami, Miami, USA
2023      AAF Singapore. Singapore
2023      AAF Battersea Park. London UK
2023      Art on Paper. USA
2023      AAF New York, USA
2023      Hampton Fine Art New York, USA
2023      AAF Sydney. Austria
2023      AAF Hong Kong Hong Kong
2023      AAF Brussels. Belgium
2022      RED dot Miami. Miami USA
2022      AAF Singapore. Singapore
2022      AAF Battersea Park. London UK
2022      Art on Paper. USA
2022      Daegu Art Fair, EXCO, Daegu,
2018      Cheongju Daecheongho Art Museum Sculpture Park Project Selection
2018      Seoul Modern Art Show Mecenat Grand Prize Selection
2017      Sculpture Festa Arirang Award Selection
2015      AAF Battersea London, AbleFineArtGalleryNY, London
2015      AAF Seoul, AbleFineArtGalleryNY, Seoul
2015      Art Show Busan, BEXCO, Busan
2015      Seoul Open Art Fair, COEX, Seoul
2014      International Sculpture Festa, Seoul Art Center, Seoul
2014      Arts Show Busan, BEXCO, Busan
2013      Arts Show Busan, BEXCO, Busan
2013      Seoul Open Art Fair, COEX, Seoul
2012      Home, Table Deco Fair, COEX, Seoul
2012      Converging Science Art, Hilton Hotel, Gyeongju
2012      Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair, Chosun Hotel, Seoul
2012      Seoul Open Art Fair, COEX, Seoul
2012      International Sculpture Festa, Seoul Art Center, Seoul
2011      Gift, Seoul Auction, Seoul
2011      Open Studio, Jang-Heung Sculpture Atelier, Jang-Heung Korea
2011      Happy Pictures, Lotte, Bundang
2011      Korea International Art Fair, COEX, Seoul
2011      International Sculpture Festa, Seoul Art Center, Seoul
2011      Korea Galleries Art Fair, Coex, Seoul

Review

Artist Kangok Jeon, who has been working in Paris for over 15 years, tells the story of sculptural elements such as gravity, form, weight, balance, and symmetry through he’s solo exhibition, <Gravity-Up>, held at KAIST Research & Art, and the ideas that go beyond them. Unravel the story together. This exhibition is the artist's 11th solo exhibition and consists of 10 of he’s sculptures, which are he’s masterpieces from recent years, and 8 photographic works taken while traveling in Europe.
Kangok Jeon has been focusing on the subject of ‘gravity’ since 1996. Gravity is the force with which the Earth pulls an object with a certain weight and is a law of nature that we are not usually aware of. Because of this law, we can live stably with our feet on the ground instead of flying chaotically into outer space. However, all laws act as a binding force. As the title of he’s exhibition suggests, Kang ok Jeon’s current works point toward the sky. This contains our desire to defy gravity and be free.
Objects on the Earth that have volume and weight inevitably face downward toward the ground due to gravity. And through balance and symmetry, objects can occupy their proper positions. However, he’s artwork seems to somehow violate such basic rules. The table-shaped object appears to be on the verge of being blown upward by the balloon, and the hollow cube shape appears to lose its balance and fall down, but at the same time appears to rise into the air. The inverted triangle object barely maintains its center of gravity thanks to four weights. Everything is just breathtaking. But in reality, this is due to our bias towards the images we see. These are cognitive prejudices about objects, such as that a light balloon can never lift steel, an inverted triangle is unstable, and a cube cannot be supported by a thin line. The author rejects this. And the author goes through a meticulous, calculated process to create an unfamiliar, tense balance. By considering shape and weight based on gravity, a beauty that appears unbalanced but is actually balanced is created.
Although it is a meta-sculpture, a sculpture that tells a story about sculpture, Kangok Jeon’s work tells a bigger, greater story. He talks about the laws of nature, the prejudices we have about things, meticulous mathematical calculations, and beauty. And furthermore, what we possess becomes our limitations, and those limitations are the precious but unrecognized values we have.