The worn out industrial-era buildings depicted in Jung’s works ultimately reflect the country’s attitude of neglect and denial toward its own tumultuous past. He urges us to remember the lives that once dwelled behind the concrete walls - lives that endured and persevered. The crux of his work is the representation of the “odor of life” permeated in the surface. To the artist, the act of painting is a means to recall forgotten memories - a means to reanimate things that are lost in the past. Therefore, the process of recreation is not merely a practice of imitation for the artist. Through his work, Jung traces and collects the marks of modern times.
Jae Ho Jung (1971~) was born in Seoul, South Korea and majored in Eastern painting at Seoul National University and in Eastern painting at Seoul National University's graduate school. He was nominated for the prestigious Korea Artist Prize in 2018, co-organized by SBS Foundation and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea, and is currently working as a professor of Eastern painting at Sejong University. His solo exhibition has been held at CHOI&CHOI Gallery SEOUL, as well as at Sahng-up Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, Gallery Soso, Kumho Museum of Art, and many others. In addition, he participated in group exhibitions in Cologne, Berlin, Jordan, and Seoul. Work by Jung is held in various public collections, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul; Busan Museum of Art, Busan; Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju; and Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul.
근대화의 산물로 남아 있는 건물들을 한지와 캔버스에 사실적으로 묘사해온 정재호 작품의 건물들은 얼핏 보면 언제라도 철거될 것 같다. 이 건물들은 강력한 자본의 힘을 뒤에 업고, 더 반짝이고 더 장황하고 더 현대적인 고층 건물들이 들어서는 이 시대에도 주름이 가득한 노인의 얼굴처럼 여전히 살아남아 한 세대의 역사를 증언한다. 정재호 작품의 핵심은 이러한 건물들의 표면에 스며든 개인과 집단의 ‘삶의 체취’를 포착하는 것이다. 작가에게 그림을 그린다는 것은 잊힌 기억을 되살리는 수단이며, 과거에 파묻힌 것들을 재발굴하는 작업이다. 따라서 그의 사실적이고 강박관념적인 ‘묘사’의 과정은 단순한 표면적 복제가 아닌 근대의 삶의 흔적을 찾아가는 포괄적 조사 및 수집의 과정이라 할 수 있다.
Born in 1971, Seoul, South Korea
Lives and works in Goyang
EDUCATION
1997 B.F.A. Department of Oriental Painting, Seoul National University, Seoul
2001 M.F.A. Department of Oriental Painting, Seoul National University, Seoul
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
- Nebula, ART&CHOI’s, Seoul
- How long have I been here, CHOI&CHOI Gallery, Seoul
- Spear and Heap, SAHNG-UP Gallery, Seoul
2017
- Heat Island, INDIPRESS, Seoul
2014
- Days of Dust, Gallery HYUNDAI, Seoul
2011
Planet, Gallery SOSO, Paju
2009
Father’s Day, Gallery HYUNDAI, Seoul
2007
Ecstatic Architecture, Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul
2005
Old Apartment Building, Kumho Young Artist Program, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul
2004
Cheongwoon Civil Apartment Building, Gallery Fish, Seoul
2003
Travel to lncheon, Incheon Shinsegae Gallery, Gallery Fish, Seoul
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
- From Berlin to Seoul: Crossing Horizons, CHOI&CHOI Gallery, HORI Artspace,
- AIF Lounge, Seoul and Bermel von Luxburg Gallery, Berlin
- URBAN GRAY, The SoSo, Seoul
2022
- House Arrest-Home sweet home, Sahng-up Gallery, Seoul
- Rent, Amado Art Space, Seoul
- Yeosu International Art Festival - Trace of the Blue Marble, Yeosu
- Breaking the Borders, Hanger, Ras Al Ain Gallery, Amman
- FLOWER, CHOI&CHOI Gallery, Seoul
- Berlin meets Seoul–Menschsein / Being Human (in collaboration with CHOI&CHOI Gallery), Bermel von Luxburg Gallery, Berlin
2021
- Songs Without Words, Galler SoSo, Paju
- The Satellite That I shoot up, Culture Tank, Seoul
2020
- Jeonnam International SUMUK Biennale 2020 Special Exhibition, Park Seokgyu Museum of Art, Mokpo
- Moment to Monument, CHOI&LAGER Gallery, Cologne
2019
- Seeing Time, Seoul National University Museum of Art, Seoul
- ASIA NOW 2019, Paris
- Electric Universe, Culture Station Seoul 284, Seoul
- REAL-Real City, Arko Art Center Gallery, Seoul
- Kumho Young Artist: The 69 Times of Sunrise, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul
- Mnemonic, Kyobo Artspace, Seoul
2018
- Korea Artist Prize 2018, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
- Self-portrait - Hak Lyang Kim, Jae Ho Jung, Sansumunhwa, Seoul
- The Side of Paradise, Anyang Museum, Anyang
- GYEONGGI MILLENNIUM DOCUFESTA – GYEONGGI ARCHIVE_NOW, Gyeonggi
- Sangsang Campus, Suwon
2017
- The red brick house, OCI Museum, Seoul
- Accidentally, the night again, WUMIN Art Center, Cheongju
2016
- Realism, Maison d Ungno Lee, Hong Seoung
- Home Ground, Cheongju Museum of Art, Cheongju
- Retro Scene, Space K, Seoul
2015
- Return Home, KOOKMIN UNIVERSITY Museum, Seoul
- Space Life, ILMIN Museum, Seoul
2014
- Home, Where the Heart is, Arko Art Center, Seoul
- The Relics of Old Seoul, Buk Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul
- Parallax View, LIG Art Space, Seoul
- The Republic of Apartments, Seoul Museum of History, Seoul
2013
- Real Landscape, True Reflection, OCI Museum, Seoul
2012
- Urban Promenade, Pohang Museum of Steel Art, Pohang
2011
- Busan my city, my strange place, SHINSEGAE Gallery, Busan
2010
- Fragmented Paysage, Daegu Culture and Arts Center, Daegu
- Between, ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul
- Seoul Archive/ Urban Landscape, Daewoo Securities Yeoksamdong Gallery, Seoul
- Now, things that are expressed paintings, GANA Art Gallery, Seoul
2009
- Wonderful Pictures, Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul
2008
- B-SIDE, Doart, Seoul
- Touch, WORKROOM, Seoul
- Retrospective 2007-Korean Young Painters, Noam Gallery / Doosan Gallery, Seoul
2007
- Asia Contemporary Art Project - City-net Asia 2007, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul
- reminiscing the medium – a ‘post-‘ syndrome, Seoul National University Museum of Art, Seoul
- Korean Painting 1953-2007, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul
COLLECTIONS
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
Seoul Museum of Art
Busan Museum of Art
Jeju Museum of Art
Seoul National University Museum of Art
Kumho Museum
Uijae Museum of Korean Art
OCI Museum