THE ONE PIECE OF ART, planned by ARTBN, is an exhibition-type art project that focuses on a single piece of work by a selected artist and shows the artist's art world in more depth, along with a production video. ARTBN presents SHIN SUN JOO's solo exhibition, <Manière-noir: Engine Company 33 – EP>, as the first exhibition of THE ONE PIECE OF ART, from October 22 through December 4, 2021.

 

The one piece of work to pay attention to is either a work with a special meaning unique to the artist from multiple angles or a substance that was produced in a practical way that has not been attempted for a long time, connecting the world of art and the present in the past rather than the existing work method.

 

As the first project, <SCRATCHER SHIN SUN JOO: Manière-noir: Engine Company 33 – EP> introduces a single piece of work that shows the best essence of the 'method of black tint' (Manière-noir), the most crucial concept in the artist's work. <Engine Company 33> is a work that has been drawn, erased, breathed, and contains the history of another time through the artist's hand for five years.

 

Scratching

As if traveling, the artist photographs and records the impressive architecture he encounters in cities worldwide. It is not simply fascinated by the splendor of the exterior or the exotic atmosphere, but rather the history and location of the architecture and the recorded time that created social values. The concept of photography is a fundamental essence and starting point in the artist's painting work. The photographed architectural photos are transferred back to the canvas through the artist's eyes, drawing as if drawing a blueprint. By dividing and subdividing the canvas screen, it is recorded in a creative meaning different from the original purpose. The primary material used in the work is oil pastel, which looks hard but has a soft touch and texture, so it is easy to do detailed work. As a tool in place of a brush, she draws lines using a thin awl or wooden spatula, paints over again, and erases repeatedly. The screen filled with oil pastels completes the space in the canvas as if weaving by scratching or scratching. Choosing the oil pastel material is essential to enable this production method.

 

Violet-tonalité Shades Purple-toned shades

Recently, a symbolic color other than black has appeared, further emphasizing the architecture's meaning in the work or creating an exotic atmosphere. The visual response given by color quickly stimulates our emotions. Purple appears in <Engine Company 33, 2016-2021, 180x180cm, oil pastel, acrylic on canvas>, which shows the best essence of the 'manière-noir,' the most crucial concept in work. The purple shade of the sky behind the exterior of the building in the dark is New York's spring, that spring night sky. Violet skies visually seem to have a rare and mystical nature, a connection to the unknown, the supernatural, and the divine. Unlike the black abstract concept at the center of the work, this expands to an idea that occasionally projects infinite imagination while revealing light and romantic energy. The purple sky, which captures the depth and mood by dividing and showing the subtle boundary with black, seems to symbolize the meaning of the prestige and authority of the building and makes us feel our emotions and the sacredness connected to the entire universe. It also reminds us that there are many great unknowns to explore and gives us a spectrum of spaces to feel wide. The shades of purple (violet-tonalité) purify architecture's grand yet vital energy with feminine delicacy and evoke a place we have never experienced and romantic and robust nostalgia. Looking at the actual history of the building, 'Engine Company 33', also the work's title, it was designed in 1899 by Ernest Flagg (American architect) in the French architectural Beaux-Arts style, including elegant limestone arches and was registered in New York City. It is famous for its monumental architecture. Currently, this building is used as a fire station and is considered a symbol and a local landmark in the history of architecture, not just a functional space. SHIN SUN JOO is not simply reproducing the form of a building, but interpreting it as an object, giving life to history, time, and the value of architectural design, and injecting sensitivity and vitality into the building itself by adding imagination.

 

Like an EP album, like a mini-album before starting a new work in THE ONE PIECE OF ART, <Engine Company 33>, which has been breathing together since 2016, contains an extraordinary story of an artist that has not been seen before. It is time to meet one piece of art.