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Aren't you tired of a monotonous exhibition displaying pictures on a wall? Although there are numerous exhibitions in Seoul alone, most of them feel similar in that they are calm exhibition spaces. Instead of exhibitions with tranquility, I would like to recommend this exhibition for Gachon students who want to experience a unique exhibition. It's 'Kevin Wendall: FA-Q EXIT'.
Before looking into the exhibition in detail, it will be helpful to get to know the artist Kevin Wendall, also known as 'FA-Q'. According to the exhibition leaflet, Kevin Wendall is the artist who has lived like a main character in a film. He did art drawing in New York freely, and considered art as the only freedom he had being in prison for 10 years due to drug addiction. That's the reason the name of the exhibition is 'FA-Q: Exit'. Kevin Wendall defined his EXIT in three ways. The first is breaking free of capitalism by doing art and expressing himself freely. The second is to rescue himself from prison and to help him escape from an unhealthy life because of drug addiction. The third is an art that he has done continuously not to stop art during hellish imprisonment. According to John Ittner in ‘The Art of FA-Q Prison Life Magazine’, he drew pictures using everything such as a small page of a spiral note, a piece of a torn bag, and the back side of a sign from a toilet wall. Then, let's look into his art and artwork that he has considered as an exit from his painful life.
First, I'd like to connect his artworks with his life. His indispensable characteristic is that the number of pictures drawing faces is overwhelming. Even if it cannot be seen right away at a glance, upon closer examination, there are many artworks hiding faces in bold brush touch or putting small actual images in pictures. He has a number of portraits to the point of people calling him a 'face artist', but he doesn't just draw people's faces that we generally think of. There are numerous artworks that he draw animals such as cats or dogs, animals or human beings, faces that seem like devils or angels due to horns or wings, and men or women whose identities are unknown. Also, faces of unbalanced facial expressions are numerous to the point of feeling weird. An exaggeratively big drawing of features rather than a sophisticated appearance makes viewers focus on facial expressions, and the characters' facial expressions in the paintings seem to be happy, sad, or angry. Additionally, we can find elongated tongues, big inflamed eyes, stretched arms, and smiling mouths as if being torn quite often. Art critics said that he sees face not only as a face but also as a person or a being for drawing hundreds of faces exclusive of several drawings. Interestingly, some people guess that the being Kevin Wendall is expressing is himself. Rather than drawing a subject, it functions as a device for realizing his being. Besides, there are assessments that he describes not simply one person but the world through the face or facial expression and that he realizes his life totally. Therefore, we learn that Kevin Wendall's drawings lead to various interpretations from viewers.
Since we deal with the artist's life and artworks, it's time to talk about the exhibition. Do you remember which people I wanted to recommend this exhibition to in the introduction? It's the people who are tired of quiet and monotonous exhibitions. This exhibition is differentiated from other exhibitions in that the formation isn't evident, also the exhibition space and the bar to which people can enjoy each beverage are connected. The constitution such as comparing Kevin Wendall's imprisonment by arranging artwork drawing a person who is in jail at the back of the door, locating the drawings out of people's sight, and hanging big pictures drawn on canvas without a frame in the middle of the room comes uniquely to viewers. In the bar, smaller drawings than those in the exhibition space are on the wall, and we can see the video narrating Kevin Wendall's life with pictures and artworks through the big screen in front of the bar with sensual songs. Also, we can get a book and leaflet which include the assessments about his artworks and artistic activity. So it's proper to share each other's appreciation related to drawings which we saw in the exhibition, drawing beverages.
The following are the thoughts of the reporter who watched 'Kevin Wendall: FA-Q EXIT' together. I was interested in the exhibition which has both the exhibition space and bar, and it seemed to show Kevin Wendall's mental world with nothing missed. Kevin Wendell's howl of desire to escape from reality seemed to be heard in each work that was not only similar but also individual, unique, the rough, unadulterated touch and the texture of each canvas seemed to convey the artist's feelings at the time of the work. The only thing lacking is that there wasn't an explanation of each work. I wanted to know what feelings were drawn with, but on the other hand, no explanation leads viewers to have more imagination and thinking. The lounge connected to the exhibition space felt like an extension of the exhibition in that providing time to share appreciation after watching. Therefore, I would like to recommend this exhibition and the art lounge to surrounding people.
So far, we have looked into the exhibition 'FA-Q: EXIT' filled with unique artworks of Kevin Wendall who has had eventful life establishing his own view of art. Like this exhibition which gives colorful pleasure to viewers by enabling leisurely cultural life as an exhibition space , a bar is connected to and getting out of the conventional structure, what about building up a rememberable experience by visiting a unique exhibition? < Copyright © The Gachon Herald All rights reserved > |
