U-Ram Choe: New Media from Seoul

The Crow Collection of Asian Art welcomes a solo exhibition of work by Korean artist U-Ram Choe (b. 1970, Seoul). The Mezzanine of The Crow Collection will be transformed with large-scale metal and plastic mechanical forms that engage in a fanciful dialog of aesthetics and machinery while exploring themes of biological transformation, flight, and movement.

The machines materialize with such a delicacy and weightlessness that they seem to take on a shape and silhouette of organic life forms. Motors, heat and light-sensitive materials add to the intricacy of Choe’s kinetic sculptures. With titles that incorporate scientific nomenclature such as Urbanus, Scientific Name: Anmopista Volaticus Floris Uram, the work is reminiscent of a prehistoric exhibit at a natural science or history museum. There are certain elements of recognition: Mechanical diagrams, text descriptions of habitats, visible evidence of fins evolving into wings, and even propellers. The warm biological livelihoods of machine-creatures become the subject in Choe’s work. These dynamic forms embody emotion and have anthropological roots, despite their streamlined metallic sheen.

Organized by bitforms gallery, NYC | Seoul with Support from One Arts Plaza