Surrounders
About the exhibition
Nature extends beyond what we perceive—it is an abstraction filled with unexplainable sensations, beyond its appearance. This intangible realm subtly shapes both collective and individual memories, influencing our stories and experiences in ways we may not always recognize.
Curated by Jungmin Cho
Jungmin Cho is the founder and director of the art space WHITE NOISE in Seoul, South Korea. WHITE NOISE is an art space for various artistic experiments and exchanges, dedicated to breaking down boundaries between artistic mediums and between mainstream/underground and commercial/non-profit. It was established in 2018.
Artists 11
Artists 11
Works 11
About the exhibition
Presented by
Vortic & Untitled Art
Curator
Jungmin Cho
Dates
26 Nov 2024 - 31 Jan 2025
Nature extends beyond what we perceive—it is an abstraction filled with unexplainable sensations, beyond its appearance. This intangible realm subtly shapes both collective and individual memories, influencing our stories and experiences in ways we may not always recognize.
This exhibition invites viewers to rediscover the subtle ways we connect with nature, often overlooked in daily life, through artworks that seek to capture this magical relationship. By re-examining our sensory connections to the environment—from figurative expressions in intimate, personal memories to abstract impressions of the vast, universal scale—we are encouraged to reflect on the essence of our relationship with nature, seeing ourselves as part of nature, and nature as part of us. This show reminds us of art history’s ongoing fascination with these fleeting exchanges, offering a fresh perspective on what it means to communicate with nature physically and sensually, as reciprocal surrounders.
Jungmin Cho
Jungmin Cho is the founder and director of the art space WHITE NOISE in Seoul, South Korea. WHITE NOISE is an art space for various artistic experiments and exchanges, dedicated to breaking down boundaries between artistic mediums and between mainstream/underground and commercial/non-profit. It was established in 2018.
Additionally, Jungmin works as an independent curator and has engaged in various external curatorial, writing, and advisory roles. She focuses on accessibility and introduces emerging art scenes and connects them globally.
WHITE NOISE and Jungmin Cho have completed projects with many international organizations, including Frieze Seoul, GYOPO, Montez Press Radio, NOISE Istanbul, and Tiger Strikes Asteroid. They were notable organizers of Frieze satellite art festival OUR WEEK which gathered commercial galleries, project spaces, art collectives and art platforms to enrich the art scene. The works of WHITE NOISE and Jungmin Cho have been featured in The Art Newspaper, Artsy, Hyundai Art Lab, The New York Times, and Spike Art Magazine among others.
Currently Jungmin is completing the graduate program at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.
Cristina Garrido, presented by CURRO
About the artist
Spanish, b. 1986
Online
Her artistic research investigates the value that is culturally assigned to objects; to a large extent, those objects classified as art. Her production, through specific, repetitive and meta-referential gestures, focuses on the circulation of these objects, the study of the exhibition, as well as the curatorial practice. Through these gestures, which take various forms (installations, publications, intervened objects, etcetera), Garrido seeks to expose the mechanisms of promotion and valuation of the art object, proposing a critical reflection about the –physical and digital– exhibition.
Having studied Fine Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid (2004-2009) and Camberwell College of Arts (2007-2008), she obtained an MA Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art (2010-2011) with a Fundació “la Caixa” Grant for Postgraduate studies in Great Britain. She has been awarded the prize Generación 2015 Proyectos de Arte Fundación Montemadrid (2015), the Fundación Botín Visual Arts Grant (2017-2018) and the ARCO Award for young artists (2018). Her work has been exhibited internationally, including shows at the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo (Madrid), Centro de Arte Andaluz (CAAC) (Seville), Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia - EKKM (Tallinn), CentroCentro (Madrid), l ?ISELP - institut supérieur pour l’étude du langage plastique (Brussels), Espacio Odeón (Bogotá), Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales (La Habana), Galerie im Taxispalais, (Innsbruck), SESC Sorocaba (Sorocaba/ Sâo Paulo), La Casa Encendida (Madrid), Banner Repeater (London) and AKV St. Joost (Den Bosch), amongst others.
Works presented in Surrounders...
Cristina Garrido, presented by CURROLocal Colour is a Foreign Invention Series Local Colour is a Foreign Invention (USA Regions – Midwest), 2022
Ha Jin Lee, presented by Gallery Project K
About the artist
South Korean, b. 1982
Online
Social
Works presented in Surrounders...
Ha Jin Lee, presented by Gallery Project KMnemosyne B. Le Pli, Fold, 2024
Tarini Sethi, presented by Rajiv Menon Contemporary
About the artist
Indian, b. 1989
Online
Social
Tarini Sethi's sculptures take us into a world of her own making, challenging the normative standards of form and gender. Tarini’s figures reflect utopian worlds where bodily structures are malleable and fluid. Tarini is interested in the blurring of boundaries--between erotic and abject, human and non human--creating a world that’s ultimately defined by love and acceptance. Her work responds to the culture of sexual repression and gender inequality she encounters in India, creating universes that dare to imagine otherwise. This work marks Tarini's first inclusion of enamel in sculpture, bringing color into conversation with her bold use of stainless steel.
Works presented in Surrounders...
Tarini Sethi, presented by Rajiv Menon ContemporaryUnder The Sun and Out Of The Blue, 2024
Jhonatan Pulido, presented by Alma Pearl
About the artist
Colombian, b. 1988
Online
Social
Works presented in Surrounders...
Jhonatan Pulido, presented by Alma PearlPapayo, 2024
Tidawhitney Lek, presented by Victoria Miro Projects
About the artist
Cambodian-American, b. 1992
Online
Social
Works presented in Surrounders...
Tidawhitney Lek, presented by Victoria Miro ProjectsSolace Sisters, 2024
Shu Okamoto, presented by COHJU
About the artist
Japanese, b. 1995
Shu Okamoto is an emerging Japanese painter exploring the potential of contemporary Nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting, by focusing on its distinctive sense of perspective, composition, use of negative space, and material characteristics such as framing, technique, and texture.
Works presented in Surrounders...
Shu Okamoto, presented by COHJUThe Screen with the Sudare, 2022
Haffendi Anuar, presented by A.I. Gallery
About the artist
Malaysian, b. 1985
Online
Social
Works presented in Surrounders...
Haffendi Anuar, presented by A.I. GalleryCobweb 4, 2021
Bo Kim, presented by BHAK
About the artist
Seoul, b. 1994
Online
Social
Bo Kim’s work examines the evolving dynamics of human relationships—both with one another and with nature—through the lens of time.
Reflecting on her parents, Bo writes, "They always seemed as strong as trees, but now I see the wrinkles on their faces. I never imagined my trees would bend; I believed they’d remain lush and green in the forest.” This reflection lies at the heart of her My Tree series, which delves into the finite nature of life. By chronicling her parents’ aging, Bo transforms a deeply personal story into a universal narrative. While time and aging are natural processes, accepting them with grace remains one of life’s greatest challenges.
Bo’s work also touches on the profound, timeless bonds between parents and children, inviting viewers to reflect on the enduring nature of cosmic time, which transcends individual relationships. In From a Pair, September 1993, she uses the image of two intertwined trees to symbolize the interconnected lives of parents and children. Through this visual metaphor, Kim gains insights, observes emotions, and comes to terms with life’s principles—truths that are often difficult to grasp. Her work ultimately reveals that while each person’s destiny is unique, our lives are intrinsically interconnected and interdependent.
Works presented in Surrounders...
Bo Kim, presented by BHAKFrom September 1993, 2024
Ghost of a Dream, presented by GEARY Contemporary
About the artist
Ongoing collaboration between Adam Eckstrom and Lauren Was
Online
Social
In a time of extreme polarization, climate catastrophe , and an endless terrifying news cycle, the artist team Ghost of a Dream has created their multi-faceted digital project Aligned by the Sun in an effort to bring hope to our collective experience and unify our fractured planet. Each work in this series is created by overlaying images of a setting sun that align vastly different and often non-neighboring locations.
Works presented in Surrounders...
Ghost of a Dream, presented by GEARY ContemporaryAligned by the Sun (A Total Revolution), 2024
Rozhan Bagheri, presented by Parisa Projects
About the artist
Iranian, b. 1995
Social
Works presented in Surrounders...
Rozhan Bagheri, presented by Parisa ProjectsLilith, 2022
EunJung Park, presented by SARAHCROWN (New York) & The Flat Massico Carasi (Milan)
About the artist
South Korean, b. 1987
Online
Social
Works presented in Surrounders...
EunJung Park, presented by SARAHCROWN (New York) & The Flat Massico Carasi (Milan)Kiss, 2024
Edition of 3 with 2 AP
In a time of extreme polarization, climate catastrophe, and an endless terrifying news cycle, the artist team Ghost of a Dream has created their multi-faceted digital project Aligned by the Sun in an effort to bring hope to our collective experience and unify our fractured planet. Each work in this series is created by overlaying images of a setting sun that align vastly different and often non-neighboring locations.
Aligned by the Sun (a total revolution) collages videos of the sunset by capturing stills, then layering, desaturating and combining these disparate images into one place. The videos in Aligned by the Sun have been contributed by artists in 225 nations around the globe that Ghost has been in communication with about the project (including artists from each of the UN Member States as well as many other locations). Ghost of a Dream’s Aligned by the Sun (a total revolution) offers an approach, or entry point, to important conversations around equality, location, migration, and the environment.
Courtesy of A.I. and artist
Haffendi Anuar’s webbed work mimics a spider’s scaffolding poised, at the ready to ensnare and entangle flying prey. The attachment of such silk fibres, in this case, foregrounds a two dimensional architecture enclosing memories in sepia [tins of Nestle Nespray, nenek’s baju (grandmother’s outfit), a limb, a traditional Malay sarong, a child’s pinafore] intersected by swatches of colour [royal and mayan blue]. Elements of autobiography sourced from a found family photo nod towards the archive and present.
Bo Kim’s work examines the evolving dynamics of human relationships—both with one another and with nature—through the lens of time.
Reflecting on her parents, Bo writes, "They always seemed as strong as trees, but now I see the wrinkles on their faces. I never imagined my trees would bend; I believed they’d remain lush and green in the forest.” This reflection lies at the heart of her My Tree series, which delves into the finite nature of life. By chronicling her parents’ aging, Bo transforms a deeply personal story into a universal narrative. While time and aging are natural processes, accepting them with grace remains one of life’s greatest challenges.
Bo’s work also touches on the profound, timeless bonds between parents and children, inviting viewers to reflect on the enduring nature of cosmic time, which transcends individual relationships. In From a Pair, September 1993, she uses the image of two intertwined trees to symbolize the interconnected lives of parents and children. Through this visual metaphor, Kim gains insights, observes emotions, and comes to terms with life’s principles—truths that are often difficult to grasp. Her work ultimately reveals that while each person’s destiny is unique, our lives are intrinsically interconnected and interdependent.
This brand new painting titled Kiss (2024) by EunJung Park (Seoul, KR) is a vibrant, surreal-abstract oil on canvas. At the center, there appears to be a merging of fleshy, soft forms that resemble both human and non-human shapes: Is it a leg or the body of an airplane? The swirling patterns and layered textures in the background contribute to an otherworldly atmosphere, suggesting themes of connection and transformation. The loose, flowing strokes echo the ethereal qualities of ancient Asian ink paintings of landscapes, where the interplay of light and shadow creates a sense of vastness and spiritual depth, inviting the viewer to experience both tranquility and motion. All shapes and patterns are intertwined, creating a sense of movement and intimacy, which aligns with the title Kiss. Soft pinks, reds, and peach tones dominate, giving the painting a tactile, almost sensuous feel. Like in many of her works, EunJung Park delves into the state of in-betweenness. In this painting, she reflects on the multiple aspects of living and loving between the East and the West, specifically the US and South Korea.
In her works, Rozhan Bagheri, as an Iranian woman, has tried to create a world beyond reality and dreams by dealing directly with the sufferings of women in the Middle East and influenced by ancient Iranian stories.
Ed. 1/3 + 2AP
Painting and geography. In this series, I depart from the well-known phrase of the writer Jorge Luis Borges Local colour is a foreign invention to question whether it is possible to find out the local colour of certain specific geographical areas.
For this, I have looked at how Western artists from different eras have depicted the sky in painting, from XVIIth century to the present. These fragments of painted skies, collected from museums’ websites, are treated as colour samples that are, then, organised chromatically following the Pantone scale in the form of a grid. The information of the name of the author of the painting, the date of its execution and the title are also indicated, generating jumps in time that connect the experience of artists from different origins and generations in front of a landscape.
Addressing themes like identity, colonialism, trade, nationalism, globalisation and climate change, I seek to transcend political boundaries and highlight similarities in the human experience connected to specific landscapes and climates.
Dimensions:
100X180 cm, eight of each 35X40cm
This work is titled Papayo, which is a colloquial way to refer to the papaya tree in Colombia. This work constitutes Jhonatan’s tribute to the flora and architecture of his native country. His work often references the trauma left in the wake of Colombian Civil War while also exploring the beauty that surrounds.
I was thinking about how much I still need my mom to hold me and how important that is to me. I will never let that go. This care between one woman and another. I mean, yeah, I am her baby daughter, but I'm a grown-ass woman. When I’m at my lowest, overwhelmed by uncontrollable
feelings, my mother’s lap and arms are among the few places that can calm me down. Then I thought about my sisters. I have three (older) Bong Srey. I thought it would be nice for them to hold each other, like how my mom does for me. To note, my mother rarely gave her loving affection to all of us. Her struggles kept her from spending that kind of time with us. There was a lot of miscommunication growing up, but we all understood she was our caring mother. So with that said, between us sisters, showing affection was also rare.
I had asked my sisters and my mom to pose for my work, that I would like to paint a composition in relation to mom, but in the end what I captured was the relationship between my sisters. I had them wear the Khmer garment that our mother had gotten tailored for us and used my parent’s backyard as the setting. I had each sister, one at a time, lie and rest her head on our mother’s lap, sitting on the straw mat while mother sat upright on a bench. Each one exhaled in comfort, eyes closing, and energy humming as I took all the photo references I needed. One sister even said, “This feels so nice.” Once that was done, I had them do the same with each other. My sisters used to be so close, but as we got older, it became harder for some reason. I blame miscommunication. No doubt that these two love each other, the ones in the painting. They’ve never left each other's side for their entire lives. And what I painted was how it was, the relationship still between the two. Bong Vann, in the blue, is the elder, and she is very much like my mom, while Bong Dah sits in consolation, a need we all share. I have another Bong Srey I would have loved to capture with the others, but the tension between them remains, and I could not convince her to join this experience of solace.
Shu Okamoto is an emerging Japanese painter exploring the potential of contemporary Nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting, by focusing on its distinctive sense of perspective, composition, use of negative space, and material characteristics such as framing, technique, and texture.
Tarini Sethi's sculptures take us into a world of her own making, challenging the normative standards of form and gender. Tarini’s figures reflect utopian worlds where bodily structures are malleable and fluid. Tarini is interested in the blurring of boundaries--between erotic and abject, human and non human--creating a world that’s ultimately defined by love and acceptance. Her work responds to the culture of sexual repression and gender inequality she encounters in India, creating universes that dare to imagine otherwise. This work marks Tarini's first inclusion of enamel in sculpture, bringing color into conversation with her bold use of stainless steel.
