Jean-Michel Othoniel’s retrospective “My Way,” being held at Plateau in central Seoul, portrays the beautiful yet scarred inner side of the French artist.
“‘My Way’ unveils my poetic and fragile choices. This exhibition is a personal journey and I talk to myself as well as to the world and the others,” Othoniel said during a press conference for the retrospective.
“Lacan’s Knot,” “The Great Double Lacan’s Knot” and “The Self-Standing Great Knot” are on display at the glass pavilion of Plateau, which is located in Taepyeong-no, Jung-gu, Seoul. The natural light pouring into the gallery creates a unique atmosphere with the bright, colorful glass bead works. Othoniel’s works are on display with Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell” and “The Burghers of Calais,” permanents at the art museum.
“This room identifies two important themes in my work — the importance of using space and light and the relationship between history and culture,” the artist said. “Rodin’s strong and virile work occupies a different field which is not mine.”
Born in St. Etienne in 1964, Othoniel consciously distanced himself from the contemporary art trends and pursued a unique sculptural universe inspired by his personal life, Plateau chief curator Ahn So-yeon, said. “The artist has created a magical world sublimating tragedy into beauty and harmony, guiding the viewers into his own fantastic universe longed by our contemporary society,” Ahn said.
The artist referred to this exhibition as “a series of self-portraits.” Othoniel’s earlier works were more intimate and poetic. The exhibition reveals the most dramatic event in Othoniel’s life — the suicide of a young seminarian the artist loved in his youth — through “Self-Portrait in Priest’s Robe,” which he considers to be his true first artwork.
“Glory Holes” is an example of the artist’s effort to sublimate repulsion into beauty, while “The Spoonerism” shows Othoniel’s initial interest in glass, after visiting a volcano in Italy in the early 1990s.
The exhibition continues to a room of vibrant colors and glass. Othoniel is known for “Kiosk for the Nightwalkers,” a crown-shaped glass bead installation at the Palais Royal station of the Paris Metro.
Among the works presented at “My Way,” “My Bed” is similar to “Kiosk.” While “Kiosk” suggested a rest area for the public, “My Bed” implies a more covert, private space, using Murano glass beads and lace-shaped steel.
Other signature glass works such as “Diary of Happiness,” which shows Othoniel’s interpretation of a dream catcher, and “Tears,” which are inspired by a Cartesian diver used for testing buoyancy levels, are also on display.
A small, but not-to-miss artwork is “Scar-Necklace,” a framed red necklace. The 1997 work was a part of a collective project in homage to Felix Gonzalez-Torres, an artist who died from AIDS. Othoniel handed out some 1,000 necklaces made from red beads, took photographs of the people wearing them and presents the snapshots together with the necklace. He also wears a necklace.
“The Wishing Wall,” which opens and wraps up the exhibition, was first introduced in Berlin in 1995. It is composed of a phosphorus-covered wall and matches and each spectator can strike a light and make a wish.
“After the audiences lights 5,000 matches, the painting will become a huge wall full of scars,” Othoniel said.
The exhibition “My Way” was designed by the Centre Pompidou in Paris and was presented at the prestigious gallery from March to May. After visiting Korea, the exhibit will travel to the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
Plateau also offers several programs for a better understanding of contemporary art. The visitors can visualize Othoniel’s watercolor works in 3D through pictograms and view photos taken by Othoniel.
A general docent program is offered at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays and an 11 a.m. program is added on weekends. For office workers nearby, a 10-minute talk is offered every Wednesday at 12:40 p.m.
The exhibition runs through Nov. 27 and is closed on Mondays. Tickets cost 5,000 won. For more information, visit www.plateau.or.kr or call 1577-7595.
Source: The Korea Times
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