His research focuses on provisionality, the passage of time, disappearance and cultural heritage.
For the series "Vessel" (Veliero) he photographed rare porcelain from Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), visiting museums around the world to bring back memories of this exquisite white tableware, shot against a white background with soft light.
“I tried to capture the point of view where the vase is more than an ancient precious object, but a sailing ship carrying a soul with infinite capacity to welcome the heart of the observer and the potter.” says the artist.
It is the recovery of the Korean cultural heritage and, at the same time, the possibility of transcendence of the object. While in "White" the subject is nature, or rather those fragile signs that nature leaves when its splendor has now disappeared: slender branches of ivy still clinging to the wall and dotted forms of climbing plants, pine needles on the snow, create
a new unsuspected "calligraphy"! that oblige us to observe the beauty enclosed in simple and ephemeral daily scenarios, on which we do not dwell for superficiality.!!
And the survey “Portraits of the Time” is not dissimilar: the protagonist is a rigorously white wall, where almost all of Koo's work takes place on the most elementary of colours, black and white. The wall bears the traces of past time.
Roughness and folds, fissures, authentic “skin” of an experience.
And "Ocean" is also slightly rippled or smooth and soft like silk velvet, a metaphor for another age of man.
Instead, in "Masks", of the traditional Korean representation, Koo's curiosity is focused on the "seen" - "not seen". The mask hides the authentic emotions, but the awkward gestures and masks reflect the deep sadness that is expressed in the folklore of his country.
In the latest work (2014), “Everyday Treasures” Bohnchang Koo radicalized his research even more. “Everyday Treasures” collects images of soap bars. Everyday treasures that we use without the slightest awareness. Soap wears out like our lives, day by day. The images are of a disarming simplicity and could
even appear trivial, but once again the author underlines the fragility, the transience of our world.
Images of elegant aesthetics, not aggressive and with subdued tones, well represent the
Korean sensitivity and the ability to observe the most subtle expressions of reality.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1953, he was educated in the Buddhist cultural tradition. He graduated in Business Administration from Yonsei University in the same city. After working for a few years in a multinational company, in 1980, he decided to follow his interest in art and move to Germany to study photography at the Fach Hoch Schule in Hamburg. In 1985 he returned to Korea and began teaching at the Kaywon School of Art and Design. He is currently a lecturer at Kyungil University in the Korean city of Gyeongsan.
His works have been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions and are part of several museum and private collections in the United States and Asia, including: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Kahitsukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Leeum, Seoul; Leeum Samsung Museum of
Art, Seoul.
In 2008 he was artistic director of Deagu Foto Biennale, South Korea, and in 2013 he was one of the curators of Photoquai, Paris. He is president of the Parkgeonhi foundation in Korea. Among his publications: Deep Breath in Silence, Revealed Personas, Vessels for the Heart in Korea and Hysteric Nine, Vessel, Everyday Treasures in Japan.
Bohnchang Koo is regarded as one of South Korea's most influential photographers, not only for his photographic research, but also for his work as a lecturer and curator who has greatly contributed to shaping and promoting contemporary Korean photography.
Milan/Carla Sozzani Gallery: from 9 November 2014 to 11 January 2015
