Hwang Seontae South Korea, b. 1972

Images

Biography

Hwang Seontae was born in South Korea in 1972. He studied fine art at Kyunghee University in South Korea and went on to train in Sculpture at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle in Germany, where he completed his postgraduate study, specialising in Glass Art. He has exhibited in South Korea, the USA and Europe, showing numerous times in the UK, where he is exclusively represented by The Pontone Gallery.

His work takes the form of the 'light box', constructed from layers of printed and etched glass, depicting cooly delineated, contemporary interiors. The box has a self-contained light source which articulates the imagined scene. Sunlight enters through windows, casting pools and patterns of illumination and projecting shadowed forms across the silent spaces. In this mostly monochromatic world, there are hints of subtle colour in the exterior glimpses of landscape and foliage. The sun's rays energise and bring life to the scene. Rooms are deserted but not abandoned; they are furnished and maintained. There is a sense of recent departure and/or imminent return.

If these images express absence, they are also about the expectation of presence. There is a palpable sense of anticipation. They hint at the delayed pleasure of inhabiting such a calm, controlled space and a desire for the ordered, familiar simplicity of domestic structure. This atmosphere of expectation is also theatrical; something may be about to happen. The dramatic space is clearly defined and the props are in place. This may be an interval before action continues.

Whatever our conjecture about these pieces, their overriding sense is of pause, stillness and suspension. They articulate a space for contemplation. The artist has made a stage-set for the action of the sun, it's rays lighting the gloom of the man made interior, bringing a moment of clarity and awareness.

Works

Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine III, 2024
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
31 1/8 x 39 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
79 x 101 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine V, 2024
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
19 3/4 x 26 3/8 x 1 5/8 in
50 x 67 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine II, 2023
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
31 1/8 x 39 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
79 x 101 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine IX, 2023
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
50 x 67 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine I, 2022
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
34 ½ x 79 ½ x 1 ½ in
87 x 202 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine II, 2022
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
34 ½ x 79 ½ x 1 ½ in
87 x 202 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine III, 2022
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
44 x 60 x 1 ½ in
112 x 152 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine III, 2022
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
44 1/8 x 59 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
112 x 151.9 x 4.1 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine VIII, 2022
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
19 3/4 x 26 3/8 x 1 5/8 in
50 x 67 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine, 2020
Tempered glass, sandblast, and LED backlit
24 1/2 x 86 x 1 1/2 in
62.2 x 218.4 x 3.8 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine, 2018
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
31 x 39 1/2 x 1 1/2 in
78.7 x 100.3 x 3.8 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Sunshine Room V, 2018
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
28 ½ x 42 x 1 ½ in
73 x 107 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Sunshine Room VI, 2018
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
28 1/2 x 43 1/2 x 1 1/2 in
72.4 x 110.5 x 3.8 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Space with Sunshine VI, 2017
Tempered Glass, Sandblast & LED Backlit
31 1/8 x 39 3/4 x 1 5/8 in
79 x 101 x 4 cm
Hwang Seontae
The Sunshine Room, 2016
Tempered glass, sandblast, and LED
24 ½ x 86 ½ x 1 ½ in
62 x 220 x 4 cm