Carved Stone and Endless Time: Woo Jong-taek Solo Exhibition at Gallery Kki
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Stone is silent, yet holds time beyond human scales. Artist Woo Jong-taek (age 53) presents 'Myoyu of Mushigwanggeop'—a solo exhibition at actor Lee Kwang-ki’s Gallery Kki in Paju from June 26 to August 2. Rebuilt from his 2024 show at Total Museum, the installation uses natural stones to evoke 'mushigwanggeop' (a Buddhist term meaning boundless time without beginning or end) and 'myoyu' (the subtle existence that has no concrete form but is clearly present). Where earlier works used wood to suggest life and death tensions, these geological stones bring deep, silent time into the gallery, inviting viewers to confront questions of life, death, being, and time. Trained in Korean painting, Woo adapts traditional ink techniques (including his personal 'reflected ink' method) and philosophical ideas from East Asian painting—such as giun saengdong (vital rhythm), ihyeong sashin (capturing spirit through form), and simwonbeop (depth and distance)—into contemporary installations. The show emphasizes coexistence with nature and a process-focused practice that merges material and spirit within space.
