Hyong Nam Ahn: The Secret of Peace
March 10, 2016 – March 23 3, 2016
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 10, 6-8 pm
Location: Art Mora Gallery, 547 W. 27th St. #307, New York NY 10001
The AHL (Art, Humanity, Love) Foundation is delighted to present The Secret of Peace, Hyong Nam Ahn’s solo exhibition curated by Eun Young Choi. The exhibition will showcase Ahn’s most recent sculptures and wall pieces along with his delicate lyrical drawings.
Ahn uses a variety of materials such as cut out aluminum forms, stainless steel rods, wood, stone, and oil paint as well as environmental factors such as wind as metaphors that allude to the natural environment. Ahn’s sensitivity to equilibrium, light and movement is accentuated by his use of these disparate materials in a fluid dialogue with each other.
In fact, the use of technology and industrial materials such as neon lights in combination with natural materials and motifs are more of a reference to the dichotomy of our environment that encompasses both the manmade and the natural rather than a critique on industrialization or consumerism. The various elements seem fractured yet balanced, engaging the viewer into a sophisticated dialogue about philosophy, nature, progress, technology, and spirituality.
Ahn’s poetic and lyrical sculptures and drawings embody both the artist’s spontaneous gestures as well as the refined technical sophistication of his craftsmanship to capture the vitality of both the physical and the spiritual world. While Ahn’s geometric shapes allude to natural motifs, his expressive linear elements and use of neon lights can be linked to the long history of Asian meditative calligraphic brush strokes. Ahn’s elegantly choreographed lyricism and the raw power of the medium embody the complex balance of nature, harmony and peace.
Hyong Nam Ahn (b 1955, Korea) earned his BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Inspired by Kinetic Art of the 1960s, his sculptures integrate lights, sounds, and movements. Ahn has exhibited extensively including solo and group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Tweed Museum, University of Minnesota; Ohio University Art Museum; Arlington Cultural Art Museum, Columbus, OH; Lake View Museum of Art & Science, Peoria, IL; SoMa Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea; and Laciudad Museum, Madrid, Spain among many others. Ahn has received numerous commissions for public sculptures from notable institutions and corporations such as McDonald Corporation in Kirkland, WA; The Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Art & Culture, Baltimore, MD; and McCormick Place Donnelly Hall World Convention Center, Chicago, IL.
Eun Young Choi, Director of Programs at AHL Foundation, is a New York-based curator, artist, museum educator and arts administrator originally from Seoul, Korea. She holds a MFA from the School of Visual Arts and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Choi has organized exhibitions and cultural events in collaboration with various organizations including the New Museum’s IDEAS CITY Festival, National Academy Museum, United Nations Headquarters, and Asian American Art Centre. Her exhibitions and programming have been featured in the New York Times, New York magazine, VOGUE magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Artcritical and numerous other media outlets.
About the AHL Foundation
AHL (Art, Humanity, Love) Foundation is a 501(c)3 visual arts organization with a mission to support Korean artists living in the United States and is committed to promoting and providing greater exposure of their work. Founded by Sook Nyu Lee Kim in 2003, the AHL Foundation has been committed to seeking and promoting talented Korean and Korean-American artists while building a wider public awareness of the important cultural contributions made by these artists. Other AHL programs include commissions, exhibitions, art history classes, public lectures, museum and gallery tours along with professional development opportunities for artists through studio visits, the AHL Forum, Visual Art Awards and Project Grants.
This exhibition is organized by the AHL Foundation with the generous support from the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Jason J. Kim Oral Design, KISS Products and numerous other donors. For additional information about our programs please visit www.ahlfoundation.org. For inquiries about the exhibitions, please contact us at info@ahlfoundation.org or 516-983-3935.
