Visitors to La Cime, located on the 34th floor of the LOTTE HOTEL SEOUL Executive Tower, are greeted by the serene elegance of Bahk Seon-Ghi’s An aggregation 230628.

While charcoal exists on its own, it is also a by-product of plants in its original form. In the process of hanging charcoal pieces in the space, imbuing the surrounding space with meaning, boundaries are crossed between the past and the present, presence and absence, reality and illusion, variability and continuity, and the East and the West. As a long-standing everyday object, charcoal has traditionally carried the symbolic meaning of “purification” to Koreans. In this context, charcoal transcends its function as a black-and-white drawing medium and assumes a role of psychological sanitization that cleanses the interior of the space. As a symbol of energy and nature’s cycle, charcoal, in its end stage of the cycle, takes on an amorphous form of obliteration, and its irregular appearance gives life to renewed vitality born out of new logic and rules.

An installation artist and a pioneer of Asian contemporary art, Bahk Seon-Ghi is currently one of the most prominent contemporary artists in Korea. His work takes on many forms, from installations featuring materials such as charcoal, stones, or acrylic beads hung from transparent wires, to sculptures that make use of painting techniques and perspective.

He earned recognition first in Europe, including Italy, when he was invited as a student to a special Arsenale exhibition in Venice. In 2005, he was named “Artist of the Year” by the Kim Chong Yung Museum, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a sculptor in Korea. In 2006, he received the Kim Chong Yung Sculpture Award, garnering even more attention. Bahk has consistently ruminated on contrasting relations, such as past and present and reality and illusion, through his hanging installations that express both Eastern and Western sensibilities. He continues to present his work internationally in critically acclaimed collections.