SHAN HUR
Shan Hur works and lives in London and Seoul. Hur holds an M.F.A from The Slade School of Fine Art (2010) and a B.F.A in Sculpture from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (2007). His work is held in the collection of the British Art Collection and some recent awards include ‘Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award’, London U.K. (2013), Oriel Davies Open 2012 Newtown Wales, Uk Finalist, ‘The Open West’, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK, 1st Award, ‘Art Catlin’ Finalist (2011).
His work is included in the forthcoming exhibition at the Korean Museum, and he has participated in recent exhibitions A New Column for Manchester, Manchester University, Manchester, UK (2014), and L’ÂGE D’OR, Aando fine art, Berlin, Germany (2013) among others.
Shan Hur’s sculptural interventions disrupt the viewer’s perception of the white cube as an art container, directly implicating the gallery space as an active element in the artwork itself. The ideas, which inform his practice, derive from a careful examination of construction sites and closed shops, fascinated by the moment of transition when a particular space is reconfigured for a new purpose. During this transition, the polished veneer of the city is temporarily removed, thereby exposing true nature, and the mechanism by which this illusion is generated.
In an early work Acquisiting, Hur exposes and plays with the façade of the exhibition space, transforming it into a site of discovery. Rather than the passive role in which the viewer traditionally receives sculpture within the context of the gallery, here he becomes an active participant, in what seems to be an excavation. Though the participatory aspects of Hur’s work are mental rather than physical, they unleash an inquisitive imagination, evoking memories of adventures and discoveries made during childhood.