Installation view of 《Inanimatefy》, VSF, 2022, Image provided by VSF

Various Small Fires is presenting 《Inanimatefy》 by Jungyoon Hyen and Mark Yang in its Seoul space. Like the exhibition title Inanimatefy, a unique term coined by combining ‘inanimate’ with ‘~to make (-fy),’ both artists take away the subjects’ lives and grant new meaning to their existence. Two young Korean-born artists across different time zones show recent works sharing the same subject matter of the body, continuing their exploration in sculpture and painting. Their ‘inanimate-fying’ practices are accompanied by the writings of Nowk Choe and Minjoo Lee for the Seoul show.

The works exhibited in Inanimatefy that borrow organic shapes—mainly referring to the human anatomy—have a closer correlation with formative language that emphasizes the intrinsic properties of each medium, e.g., the materiality of sculpture and the flatness of painting. (Hayoung Chung, curator)

Jungyoon Hyen (b. 1990, Seoul, South Korea, lives and works in Seoul, South Korea) received a B.F.A in Painting from Ewha Womans University, Seoul, and M.A. in Sculpture from Royal College of Art, London. Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Songeun Art Cube, Seoul; Korean Cultural Centre UK, London; and Factory 2, Seoul. Recent group exhibitions include the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon; Royal College of Art, London; Camden Art Centre, London; La Ira de Dios, Buenos Aires; The Royal Edinburgh Sculpture Court, Edinburgh; and Space K, Seoul.

Mark Yang (b. 1994, Seoul, South Korea, lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) received a B.F.A from Art Center College of Design and an M.F.A. from Columbia University, New York. Yang presented solo exhibitions at And Milk at Various Small Fires, Los Angeles; Dallas Art Fair; Korea International Art Fair; and Steve Turner, Los Angeles. The artist has been in group exhibitions at Half Gallery, Los Angeles; Wallach Art Gallery, New York; Saga, Seoul; Steve Turner, Los Angeles; Thierry Goldberg, New York; and Ki Smith Gallery, New York. His work is included in the public collections of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; The Mint Museum, Charlotte; and Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.