Artist Focus: Hwang Seontae

Hwang Seontae playfully designs spaces that exist in the absence of color, exploring the significance and materiality of light projection and how much of it matters in a composition. Seontae was born in South Korea in 1972. He studied fine art at Kyunghee University in South Korea and completed his postgraduate training in sculpture and glass art at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle in Germany. The scenes crafted through multiple layers of printed and etched glass reveal empty homes with a feeling of comfort completely erased when not lit. 

 

The light purposefully breathes life into Seontae’s world, alleviating the white ‘light-box’ from its eerie and somewhat lonely spaces. His mastery of glass and how light is reflected or hidden from such material is evident in the manner in which he is able to cast a man-made light to imitate the natural properties of the sunlight and its cast shadows. Through this application of light, Seontae articulates the imagined scene, contrasting the abandoned nature of the monochromatic room with the subtle hints of color in the exterior glimpse of landscape and foliage.

 

Hwang Seontae has exhibited in South Korea, the United States, and Europe, with numerous appearances in the United Kingdom, where he is exclusively represented by Pontone Gallery.