19 June 2022
Welcome to Stephanie’s Choice, my monthly selection of the most interesting and topical artists and exhibits happening around the world. For those of you who are new to this dispatch or have yet to work with me. I am Dr. Stephanie Kim, and I have been representing artists, curating shows and making art exhibitions with over 600 artists for the past 17 years. Stephanie’s Choice is an articulation of the passion I feel about making people fall in love with collecting. Please see www.iskaiart.com/
Koh Sang Woo, an artist based in New York and Seoul, is the first artist to be featured in Stephanie’s Choice newsletter. That’s because I feel so strongly about this artist that I personally collect Koh’s work, and becau se this newsletter coincides with the opening of his solo show at Savina Museum. Generously supported by WWF (World Wildlife Fund), the exhibition forces us to consider the future of 20 endangered animals depicted by Koh. These beautifully illustrated animals reveal the intricate and fragile state of our most recognised and beloved animals, from tigers to gorillas to owls.
Night Vision, 2022 KOH SANG WOO Edition of 10
120 x 120 cm
Price upon Request (Currently in London)
Koh’s process is exhaustive and each work takes months to complete Starting from his iconic photographs of carefully selected animal subjects, Koh inverts these into digital paintings, painstakingly altering and highlighting each with a digital brush. My initial reaction to the realistic and natural detail, vividly rendered by every one of the digital brush strokes, was the impulse to reach out and touch them. It brought me back to the death of my dog last summer when, for the first time, I touched a body devoid of breath. Even fur seemed stiff. Then I realised how Koh breathes air into these endangered animals with his art. It was a powerful moment that drove me to curate an exhibition entitled TOUCH with Koh’s work as the centrepiece. I plan to show more of Koh’s work from this series because you cannot replicate the experience of seeing it in person.
TOUCH exhibition in 2021, London by ISKAIART www.iskaiart.com
Koh has had a meteoric rise in the art world. Even before graduating from the Chicago Art Institute in 2001, he became the first Asian man to sign a contract with Carl Hammer Gallery. His works have always been provocative and included a series of self-portraits of him disguised as a white woman as well as a series of photographs of women weighing more than 100 kgs. Koh has exhibited at the Armory show in New York in the 2000s, and many notable collectors acquired his works, from Madonna to Ray Dalio.
Koh’s work has also been recognized in social and political spheres. Fate, depicting a last tiger of Joseon Dynasty (Korea’s ancient kingdom), was used as the background for President Moon Jae-in’s New Year’s greetings at the Blue House in January of 2022. His work is prolific and increasingly popular, thriving with the boom of the Korean Art scene and the opening of the Frieze Exhibition in Seoul in 2022.
From a financial perspective, collectors have found Koh’s work an attractive investment. Prices have steadily climbed, with old works seeing significant appreciation. This new collection has met with robust sales and strong pricing. Koh’s Pierrot Lion, for example, realised 21,250 GBP in 2020, 2 years before his work was shown at the Blue House.
For more information about Koh, the Blue House show and upcoming exhibits, I encourage you to visit the links and resources below, or reach out to me at my YouTube
VLOG —->>>>>. https://www.youtubecom/watch?v=Kl8JrgFKxgM
Prices on online site
EDUCATION AND RESIDENCIES
2001 Graduated from The School of Art Institute of Chicago, Major in Photography&Performance Art
2000 New York Studio Program, Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, NY
1998 Artist in Residency, Chicago Artists Residency, Chicago
1997 Rhode Island School of Design, Summer Program, Providence
Written by Dr. Stephanie S. Kim Contact director@sleeperssummit.com for more info
