g.gallery is pleased to present great exhibition Part 2: + (plus) a group show featuring the collaborative works of Korean artists Son Sangwoo, Eum Hayoung, Seo Yesuk, Joo Yunjung, and Jeon Byeonghwi (Studio PESI). The show is the second part of the 2021 edition of g.gallery's Great Exhibition project and focuses on the theme of harmony between design and art.

The exhibition, which is part of an attempt to blur the boundaries between design and art, will showcase the works of three teams: Son Sangwoo x Eum Hayoung, Seo Yesuk x Joo Yunjung, and  Seo Yesuk x Jeon Byeonghwi. Each team developed their pieces over several months, conducting weekly video calls in order to bring their ideas to fruition. 

'Playgarden,' a collaboration between Son Sangwoo and Eum Hayoung, was inspired by the Korean board game 'Janggi.' The artists delved deep into their childhood memories, sifting through the many colorful toys and games to finally settle on Janggi as the base for their collaborative piece. The Janggi board functions as a place for gameplay and as a coffee table, acting as an attempt to grant new perspective to the otherwise simple object. The board was completed through a slow process of pouring resin into a mold and painting over the dried surface. This was repeated seven times, each layer adding to the overall portrayal of spatial depth. The similarly made set of 32 Janggi pieces also has dual purposes, functioning as vases and objets as well as chessman.

Seo Yesuk and Joo Yunjung's 'Balance' features geometric sculptures that teeter on the border between balance and imbalance. The two artists drew inspiration from the role-poly toy, finding similarities between the toy and their situations in how both try to find balance within unbalanced situations. A total of 24 unique sculptures were created using the slip casting technique, which allows the repeated production of identically shaped ceramics. When each distinctively shaped upper piece is assembled on top of a semicircular bottom, each combination is balanced at a different point. Furthermore, the team added diversity to their pieces through the application of different patterns and colors. Although the sculptures do not actually function as roly-polys, they convey dynamic movements through the diversity of these forms and combinations.

Seo Yesuk and Jeon Byeonghwi's (Studio PESI) collaboration 'BLIND SPOT' are a series of mirrors, their surfaces filled with regular or irregular sections of a grid pattern. Seo Yesuk, an artist that works with a variety of mediums such as installation and silkscreen printing, and Jeon Byeonghwi, a designer that has been visually realizing design concepts under the name Studio PESI since 2015, have come together to focus on the keyword, 'borderline.' A mirror is an object that has viewers simultaneously consider both reality and the virtual space reflected in it. Seo and Jeon focused on how a two-dimensional pattern on the surface of a mirror interacted with the three-dimensional images reflected in the mirror, causing unexpected communication. Viewers become aware of the blurry boundaries between dimensions. 'BLIND SPOT' metaphorically portrays the virtual space existing on the surface of the object located between the two spaces using grid networks and digitized dots.

The title of the exhibition, '+ (plus),' refers to the creative process behind the making of each artwork. Having two vastly different artists come together to collaborate on a piece with new functions, or new shapes acted as a bridge between two fields with seemingly contradictory characteristics. The five participants were able to add(plus) their different strengths, and even create synergy beyond this "plus." This exhibition highlights the imagination and novelty that ambiguity creates, as well as helps viewers perceive the falling boundaries between art and design.