Wook Heo was born in 1973 in Seoul, Korea and he is currently living and working in Paju, Korea. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Art in Paris, France 1994 – 1998 and got his D.N.S.A.P. He is specialised in painting, drawing, architecture and multi-media. He has shown his work as below;
Solo Exhibitions
| 2010 | ART2021, Seoul, Korea | |
| OPENSTUDIO 21, Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2009 | LVS Gallery, Seoul, Korea | |
| NAMPO ART Museum, Jeonnam, Korea | ||
| OPENSTUDIO 21, Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2008 | Gallery K. Seoul, Korea | |
| Gallery H. Seoul, Korea | ||
| Blank Space Gallery, Australia, Sydney | ||
| 2007 | Gallery LM. Seoul, Korea | |
| Hyundal Department Store. Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2006 | Gallery GAINRO. Seoul, Korea | |
| Hyundal Department Store. Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2005 | SEO Gallery, Seoul, Korea | |
| <Piling up – Piled up> | WITH PLUS Korea, Seoul, Korea | |
| KYUNGIN Art Museum, Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2004 | Gallery RAAM, Seoul, Korea | |
| <Office Project 1> | MARRONNIER Art Center, Seoul, Korea | |
| <Piling up – Piled up> | Art SPACE, Seoul, Korea | |
| 2003 | Project 2003 | Kwanghwa-moon Park, Seoul, Korea |
| Gallery LAMER. Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2002 | Project 2002 | Gyeongboggoong Station Museum, Seoul, Korea |
| CHOSUN Gallery, Seoul, Korea | ||
| 2001 | Project 2001 | Sejon Cuiture Center, Seoul, Korea |
| KEUMSAN Gallery, Seoul, Korea | ||
| Gallery Art Side, Seoul, Korea | ||
Group Exhibitions
| 2010 | SOAP- Seoul Open Art Fair | Seoul, Korea |
| New Year’s greetings 2010 | Gallery K. Seoul. Korea | |
| 2009 | Asian Modern and Contemporary Art | Singapore |
| Asia Hope Network Project | Keumsan Gallery, Paju, Korea | |
| TWO+ | Gallery Eve, Seoul, Korea | |
| A part of me | Gallery Eve, Seoul, Korea | |
| Seoul Motor Show | Space HAAM, Seoul, Korea | |
| 2008 | KIAF- Korea internationl Art Fair | Seoul, Korea |
| SOAF- Seoul Open Art Fair | Seoul, Korea | |
| Artist’s garden- Child’ garden | Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Gimhae, Korea | |
| 2007 | Songzhuang International Art Fesitival | Project, Chine Beijing |
| Mokdong Outlet of Hyundal Department Store, Seoul, Korea | ||
| <Falling in Fall> | Sinsegyae Department Store. Seoul, Korea | |
| <New Type Contemporary Museum in School> | Myeongji Foreign Language High School. Gyeogido Ulwang | |
| POSCO Steel Art | POSCO, Seoul, Korea | |
| <POP & CON MIX> | Young-Un Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeonggido Gwangju, Korea | |
| Old Jeonnam provincial office | Uijae Art Studio, Jaonnam Gwangju, Korea | |
| KIAF- Korea internationl Art Fair | Seoul, Korea | |
| 2006 | <House of imagunation,feel the space> | Sungnam Living Design Festival,Sungnam |
| Korea Design Center, Sungnam, Korea | ||
| KIAF- Korea internationl Art Fair | Seoul, Korea | |
| <Who’s who?> | Hyundal Department Gallery H, Seoul, Korea | |
| <Support- Supported> Project | Seongmoon Book, Seoul, Korea | |
| SEO FACTORY- New Idea EXHIBITION | Seo Gallery, Seoul, Korea | |
| <40 Young bloods > | Gallery Opra, Seoul, Korea | |
| <Fascinating space> | DACOYA, Seoul, Korea | |
| <Color-3 > | Gainro Gallery, Seoul, Korea | |
| Korea-Japan Interchange in Japan foundation center, Seoul, Korea | ||
| <Dreaming the sea> | Small Art Museum at Je-ju sea port terminel, Jejudo, Korea | |
| <Tableau – Table> | b’union Gallery, Bundang, Korea | |
According to his Artist Statement ‘Between Tiers‘ does not simply refer to the space between layers of an object. It refers to the space between processes of effectuation and restoration, such as from line – space, frame – panel, cloth – paint, material – color, spirituality – substance and action – reaction, etc. Also, he took into consideration the instantaneous works on modified frame and restoration into screen. From the perspective that this process of responding with these objects and with the space in which such responses take place is the most important ‘between’ in his work, ‘Between Tiers’ not only holds the significance as a process of surpassing boundaries, but also is to re-disperse, re-analyse and re-organise the more primitive and fundamental work processes at the same time. Therefore, it refers to the in-between space where the concept for the process of partial joining of objects coexist by producing repetition – difference. What he observes and intuits is not the completed image, but the in-between space of tiers.
The Art Critic Chung-Hwan Koh says
The most distinctive characteristic of Heo Wook can be found in his attitude to deal with a canvas. For him, a canvas is no longer a supporter or a supplementary means to draw a certain image. Through a serious of process to release and reorganize the general idea on a canvas, the sustainable sense of existence for a canvas is returned. In other words, the collection of every single canvas, which is already independent, re-presents a united whole screen. To realise this, the Artist draws several patterns in form through his own unique style and creates a canvas according to the patterns. After creating the frames of a palm-sized circle or semicircle and a form that reminds us of a piece of puzzle, the frames are covered with pieces of fabric one by one to create big and small-sized atypical canvases. Finally, those small canvases are combined like mosaic to construct one grand art piece. On the final screen constructed through such process, the piled big and small frames create dimensional effect (Strictly speaking, it is an embossed sculpture) while the harmony created through the abstract expression of colored sides or patterns (Repeated strip-pattern in general) evokes rhythmical internal echo.
In terms of the Artist approach on a canvas that reorganises the standardised structure and frame of a canvas by releasing those elements, such attempt is connected to <Support- Surface> (Supporting frame – Supporting body) that considers a canvas itself as an independent object. As noticed, <Support- Surface> releases a canvas from the supplementary devices of the representation art (Harmonisation of entire representation that is expressed in realistic, non-realistic, conceptual, and abstract ways) to allow its role as an independent object. Such attitude was even evaluated later as the opening of a new field in the Modern Arts.
In addition, the work of Heo Wook repeatedly piles and lines up a unit element as a module. For such approach, several basic models are selected and eventually, those selected models are reorganised in typical or atypical patterns by being repeatedly piled. It has basic models, but not all of them from the basic ones to repeatedly re-produced ones are the same. Actually, the models that seem identical in size and shape from the external look are manually produced one by one, thus, they have slightly different shapes. Likewise, the work of the Artist that involves repeated piling of the minimum models as a unit element seems to be driven by the recognition on the organic relationship between the glimpse and entire look (Understanding on the world work) of the artwork. But actually, there lies a function called ‘Practical Logic of Repetition (The logic of difference)’ that implies a certain level of difference (Or an aspect that creates difference).
Enjoy his work images!
‘Cars 67’, Mixed media, 81x 122 cm, 2010
‘Cars 544’ Mixed media, 122 x 163 cm, 2010
‘Cars 525’, Mixed media, 81x 122 cm, 2010
‘Cars 569’, Mixed media, 122x 163 cm, 2010
