Jean-Michel Othoniel: Treasure Gardens
Jean-Michel Othoniel: Treasure Gardens is a solo exhibition by the widely acclaimed French contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. The exhibition features over 70 works the artist has developed and produced in the last ten years. Since the late 1980s, Othoniel has been producing unique fascinating works which create enchanting worlds of wonder, combining reality based on myths, fantasy and future dreams, attempting to connect with public life, nature, history and architecture beyond the museum walls. As an extension of Othoniel’s public outdoor installation works, this exhibition held in Seoul Museum of Art, its Outdoor Sculpture Park and Deoksugung Palace, approaching the various spaces and public audiences.
The “gardens” in the title of the exhibition refer to the multiple sites in which the exhibition takes place, as well as signifying a garden of contemplation created in the hearts of the visitors through the works. For Othoniel, the garden has a special meaning and is like a secret treasure house of infinite inspirations. Reflecting his longing for the garden, Othoniel chose Deoksugung Palace, adjacent to the Seoul Museum of Art, as a space to perform his magic. The sculptures installed in the pond in Deoksugung Palace transform the surrounding landscape into a new spacetime, inviting the visitors to a world of poetic meditations. After viewing the works in Deoksugung Palace and entering Seoul Museum of Art, the Collier Or(Gold Necklace) in SeMA, Outdoor Sculpture Park and the metal sculptures standing on either side of the museum entrance welcome the visitors. Upon entering the exhibition space in the museum, the visitors are greeted with La Rose du Louvre(The Rose of Louvre) and the Plum Blossom painting series, followed by the overwhelmingly captivating work Riviere bleue(Blue River) made of over 7,000 blue glass bricks. 14 knot-shaped works are suspended above or placed on Riviere bleue(Blue River), creating a new landscape depending on the point of view, and the Precious Stonewall series on the wall releases lights of splendid colors. In the end of the exhibition, Agora reminds us of the meaning of human connection and sharing, followed by Oracle which expresses a strong belief in intuition.
Othoniel's brilliantly shimmering works may only seem just beautiful at a glance; however, upon closer and slower reading of the works, one can find the coexistence of anxiety and suffering lying beneath such exquisiteness. The traces of glass produced through the mouth-blowing process appear to be scratches and dents when looking at each individual pearl, but they present a harmonious splendor when the numerous pearls are brought together into a necklace. Just as splendor shines brighter through wounds, life is revived in the nature of the garden, nourished by death, and the human life also fills up with hope, paradoxically through the process of suffering. By delivering the secrets, wonder and enchantment of the cosmos contained in the garden in his works, Jean-Michel Othoniel hopes for the visitors to face their own anxieties, wounds and sufferings, to dream of new aspirations to cope with the world just as he did.
Admission
Seoul Museum of Art - Free Admission
Deoksugung - Adult (age 19-64) 1,000 won
Youth (age 7-18) 500 won
Children (under 7 years old) and
Seniors (over 65 years old) Free Admission
