MyungKeun Koh
My works, in which transparent images become sculptural structures, are intended to make the viewer aware of the very act of seeing. Even though these forms are filled with layered images, they are, in the end, nothing more than empty transparent vessels embodying the idea that nothing in the world can hold permanence. Through my work, I aim to show that every entity we perceive is, at its core, an empty form shaped by constantly shifting images. It is this fragile, ever-changing nature of perception that I seek to explore.
- MyungKeun Koh -
MyungKeun Koh (b. 1964, Seoul) is a Korean artist renowned for his innovative photo-sculptures that merge photography and three-dimensional form. He prints images on transparent OHP film, laminates them onto plexiglass (a highly transparent acrylic resin), and meticulously hand-welds the pieces into architectural structures. This process creates fluid, continuous spaces where the boundaries between inside and outside dissolve.
MyungKeun’s works explore themes of transparency, lightness, time, memory, and human experience, often using urban landscapes and architectural elements as central subjects. His distinctive practice plays a key role in pushing the boundaries of contemporary photographic art and exploring the intersections of image, material, and space.
His major exhibitions include Savina Museum of Contemporary Art (Seoul, 2023), Museum Hanmi (Seoul, 2020), Tokyo Gallery (Tokyo, 2017), Louis Vuitton (Taipei, 2010), Frey Norris Gallery (San Francisco, 2008), and O.K Harris Gallery (New York, 2007). He has also participated in key international shows such as the 55th Venice Biennale collateral event (Who is Alice?), Art Basel Hong Kong and ARCO Madrid.
His works are part of major collections, including the Korea National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Ilmin Museum of Art, Hanmi Museum of Photography, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Microsoft Collection.
EDUCATION
1991 MFA, Department of Fine Arts, Pratt Institute, New York, US
1987 BFA, Department of Sculpture, Seoul National University, Seoul, KR
RESIDENCIES & AWARDS
2013 Vermont Studio Center, Vermont, US
2006 Gana Art Gallery Cite Des Art Cite Paris, Paris, FR
1996 2nd Moran Art Prize, KR
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Transparent Space, Walking in Between, Savina Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, KR
2020 Space of Contemplation, Museum Hanmi MoPS, Seoul, KR
2017 A Blending Space, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, JPN
2013 Space Illusion, Gallery Sun Contemporary, Seoul, KR
2010 DOUBLE VISION, Louis Vuitton, Taipei, TW
2009 Transparent Container II, Leeahn Gallery, Daegu, KR
2008 Building-Body-Nature, Kim Chong Yung Museum, Seoul, KR
2008 Windows on Nature, Frey Norris Gallery, San Francisco, US
2007 Transparent Container, Leeahn Gallery, Daegu, KR
2007 Buildings, O.K Harris Gallery, New York, US
2006 Solo Exhibition, Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo, JPN
2003 Transparent Sensibility, The Museum of Photography, Seoul, KR
1999 Reproduction & Restoration, Hakgojae Gallery & ArtSpace Seoul, Seoul, KR
1993 Picture, Collage, Sculpture, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
1991 Sculptured Photo-Collage, Higgins Hall Gallery, New York, US
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 Hangeul loved by big data, Savina Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, KR
2019 Taipei Dangdai, Tokyo Gallery, Taipei, TW
2018 Perennial youth and long life, Seongnam Cube Art Museum, Seongnam, KR
2017 Body, The language of Sensation, Muan Seungwoo Oh Museum of Art, Muan, KR
2016 Public to Private: Photography in Korean Art since 1989, MMCA, Seoul, KR
2015 Illusion and Fantasy, Korea National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Seoul, KR
2015 Art Basel Hong Kong, Gallery Skape, HK
2014 TOMORROW 2014, DDP, Seoul, KR
2013 The official collateral events of the 55th Venice Biennale - Who is Alice?, LIGHT BOX, Venice, IT
2011 Korean Eye: Energy and Matter, Museum of Art & Design, New York, US
2010 On the Cutting Edge-Aspects of Korean Contemporary Photography, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, TW
2009 Korean Contemporary Photography Now, 798SPACE, Beijing, CN
2009 Korean Eye: Moon Generation, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2007 Works in Progress, BTAP, Beijing, CN
2006 Deux Photographers, Galerie Lumen, Paris, FR
2005 Re-presenting Representation VII", Arnot Art Museum, New York, US
2005 ARCO Madrid, Tokyo gallery, Madrid, ES
2004 Art Cologne, Tokyo gallery, Cologne, GE
2004 East Wind, Chapel of the Sorbonne, Paris, FR
2002 Landscape from Photo, Photo from Landscape, The Korean Arts & Culture Foundation, Seoul, KR
1998 Alienation and Assimilation, The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP), Chicago, US
1996 Photo Sculpture, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
1996 Revolution of the Space - Korean Contemporary Art's, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, KR
1994 Young Korea Artist '94, Korea National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, KR
1991 Centennial Biennial Invitational, O.K Harris Gallery, New York, US
SELLECTED PUBLICATIONS
2023 Transparent Space, Walking in Between, Savina Museum, Seoul
2020 Space of Contemplation, Museum Hanmi, Seoul
2008 Stone body, The museum of Photography Seoul
2007 Transparet Container, Leeahn Gallery, Seoul
2005 Koh Myung Keun, Noonbit
SELLECTED COLLECTIONS
Korea National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Seoul Museum of Art in Seoul, Ilmin Museum of Art in Seoul, Hanmi Museum of Photography in Seoul, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Korea, Microsoft Collection
