New artworks by Seung Yul Oh, an artist hailed by The Guardian as a rising star, will soon be on display in HaaPoom, a major solo exhibition on display at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi.

 HaaPoom takes its title from the Korean word for ‘yawn’, an infectious and often involuntary act that continues artist Seung Yul Oh’s interest in exploring creativity, expression and surprise. Working from the simplest of materials, he is able to transform everyday experiences into unexpected encounters. The title is also a nod to both the wind as a defining characteristic of West Auckland, as well as Oh’s keen interest in expansion, growth, kinetic forces and latent potential through the lightest of materials: air.

Always playing with scale, Oh is an expert at creating big effects with the lightest touch, including huge inflated sculptures that can occupy large spaces but remain vulnerable to deflation. Through common motifs, like balloons or giant eggs, he references cycles of growth and regeneration, as well as the spontaneous processes and potential of cosmological forces. HaaPoom proposes that the big bang is a giant yawn and provides a playful universe of wonder and primal experiences.

“Seung Yul Oh’s work is renowned for its irresistibility, attracting viewers both young and old, like bees to pollen”, says Te Uru Director and exhibition curator, Andrew Clifford. “The universal appeal of his art is evident in his recent solo exhibitions in Seoul and his inclusion in key events like Art Basel Hong Kong. We're excited to showcase such a large scale exhibition of work by a local artist who is also achieving critical success internationally."

 HaaPoom is Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery’s biggest exhibition to date, spread through four galleries and activating many spaces between. The exhibition features new work made specifically for our new and architecturally distinctive spaces by one of New Zealand’s most dynamic and internationally active contemporary artists.

Seung Yul Oh: HaaPoom runs at Te Uru from 30 August – 8 November 2015
Opening: Saturday 29 August, 4pm-6pm

Public programmes:

BaramBaram

Saturday 10 October, 11am – 4pm

As part of Seung Yul Oh’s solo exhibition HaaPoom, Te Uru will stage a bubble-making event on the roof of Lopdell House. The event is a playful extension of Oh’s interest in air as an element that can give form, in this instance through bubbles. Bubble-making equipment will be available, but please bring along your own bubble-makers if you wish. 

OgoGago

Saturday 10 October, 11am – 4pm

Curated by artist Seung Yul Oh, OgoGago ('comes and goes') is a programme of videos selected from the online collection of Circuit Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand. Artists include Daniel Von Sturmer, James Oram, Gemma Syme, and Daif King. OgoGago (50 mins) will run continuously in the Lopdell Precinct Theatre from 11am to 3pm. Presented in association with CIRCUIT Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand.

Periphery

Saturday 10 October – Sunday 18 October, 10am – 4.30pm daily

From 10-18 October, Seung Yul Oh’s Periphery (2013), a morass of giant yellow inflatables, will be installed in Te Uru’s Learning Centre Gallery.  The work invites viewers to navigate through the close formation of upright pillars, pushing against and sinking into their squishy forms.

About the artist:

Seung Yul Oh (b. 1981, Seoul, Korea) is a Korean New Zealand artist based between Titirangi and Seoul. He has been described by The Guardian as a ‘rising star of the Asian art market’. He moved to Auckland in 1997 and graduated with an MFA from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland in 2005. His survey exhibition MoaMoa was presented at Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2013 and City Gallery Wellington in 2014. He has staged solo shows and projects at Art Basel Miami Beach and Art Basel Hong Kong; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington; Artspace, Auckland; The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt; Ggooll, Seoul, and Christchurch Art Gallery. Group exhibitions include the Auckland Art Gallery; Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth; City Gallery Wellington and 4A Centre for Contemporary Art, Sydney. Permanent public commissions have been built in Auckland and Hamilton. He is represented by One and J. Gallery in Seoul and Starkwhite in Auckland.

About Te Uru

Te Uru presents a diverse programme of contemporary exhibitions, events and activities that include art, craft and design. As a destination gallery, Te Uru operates from an award-winning, purpose-built building in the recently re-opened Lopdell Precinct, situated at the entrance to the Waitakere Ranges and en route to Auckland’s famous west coast beaches.

For more information, contact:

Te Uru 09 817 8087 | info@teuru.org.nz | www.teuru.org.nz