2019 Workshop of the École des Beaux Arts from Versailles

Hyun-joo Son's "Variations: red, yellow, blue"

Through lattice windows the April sun shines, low enough to reach deeply into the large chamber, strong enough to cast saturated shadows. Against this ever changing presence of rays and darkness as background, stand out an object by Korean art student Hyun-joo Son. A slanted spade is supported by a red rod, a yellow rod on the floor completes the form of a triangle. The two coloured rods are immaculate, the spade is soiled, just taken from a shed. The straight cutting part of the blade provides the only source of stability. It is an ensemble appealing in its simplicity, on a dull day it would miss part of the charm. But like on a film set, where only the best scenes are taken, we luckily have here: the sunny day, the rectangular forms of the lattice windows, and we are able to walk around the triangle. I had the impression of moving through a sacred space of elementary forms. Speaking of elementary forms: the circle drawn in one sweeping motion by Zen-monks is famous, but this is not the only form. A triangle is also part of the expression of Cosmos and so is the rectangle, as can be seen in second image, a zen’ga or zen painting from the 19th century. Both forms are present in the work of Hyun-joo Son, one motionless, one moving; one in the form of a real object, one ephemeral. But if you take the triangle, it’s empty on the “inside”, and doesn’t have much body; the spade and the two rods will not hold to another for long. This is at least the appearance, as we see not special connections between the parts. A fine piece of work, that surely will tell its own story to different people.
Hyun-joo Son was a member of the 2019 workshop of students of the Versailles school of fine arts, residing in ArToll-Kunstlabor, Bedburg-Hau, Germany.