Communication of Art through Exhibition Space Design

Exhibition is a Philosophy of “Space” and “Image”.

Increasingly more focus is being placed on ways of presenting the exhibition through subjects that cross over boundaries of diverse fields and works of various genres. And as a result, the exhibition designer’s part, which visualizes the exhibition for the audience, is gaining more importance. The exhibition designer not only designs the exhibition space and environment which holds the works, he or she seeks to deliver the exhibition to the audience in a more effective manner. Most importantly, the exhibition designer must understand the objective of the exhibition as well as the works, and to do this, the exhibition designer must collaborate with the curator. Upon the confirmation of exhibition schedule, the curator and the exhibition designer must continuously share each other’s opinions and ideas. Such process of communication produces an exhibition space in which the audience experiences new and diverse ways of interpretation. In addition, the exhibition designer explores various creative methods to facilitate the audience’s understanding of the exhibition, such as making a fluid channel of movement or emphasizing certain parts of the exhibition in order to ease the public reading of the exhibition.

Case Examples of Exhibition Design

1. Dansaekhwa: Korean Monochrome Painting, 2012. 3. 17 ? 5. 13, 31 participating artists and 120 works

An exhibition of many works by great Korean master painters, this exhibition focused on positioning the works by various artists in harmonizing manner. The concept of Korean architectural feature ‘dam’ (wall/fence) was applied as a mechanism to facilitate public understanding. By indicating ‘view point’ on the exhibition floor, the objective was to give the room to embrace the space.

2. A Korean Contemporary Artist: Choi Man Lin, 2014. 4. 8 ? 7. 6

The exhibition was designed based on Choi’s philosophy “sculpture is experiential art”, intended to refocus on the artist’s sculptures according to the area and the color of the walls of the exhibition space. As an example, framed window looked into the artist’s process of contemplation in his work, and stoic black and white colors on the walls endowed the exhibition with a sense of dynamicism.

3. Korean Beauty: Two Kinds of Nature, 2014. 5. 17 ? 9. 28 Approximately 140 works in the exhibition

The exhibition worked with a new concept in channel of movement and point of view in order to break the antiquated stereotype of collection exhibitions. Inspired by Louis Kahn’s statement that “columns create events in space”, the exhibition mobilized columns ? commonly known as interrupting element of art works installation ? and presented a usage of space borrowing Korean pavilion structure.

4. Figurative Journal: Chung Guyon Archive, 2013. 2. 28 ? 12. 29

The exhibition clearly demonstrated its uniqueness as an architecture exhibition through graphic design borrowing auxiliary lines in architecture practice. Also, with archive sequencing following the architect’s background, the exhibition sought to give introduction to history of Chun Guyon’s architecture through diagonal composition.

5. Urban Manifesto 2024, 2014. 12. 29 ? 2015. 1. 31

Taking place in three different venues as project-form, the exhibition experimented with different colors and patterns to classify exhibition venue, contents and programs, exhibition context and ways of expression. The exhibitions also remained devoted to the characteristics of the spaces in which the projects were being held.