Woven, dyed hwamunseok and thread
Kang’s monumental woven works reference chunaeungmu, a Korean court dance from the Joseon Dynasty of the late eighteenth century, in which a solo performer danced on a small reed mat before the king. “As a whole, the series considers the space provided to individuals in society, upon which each person can stand and sustain their own weight,” Kang explained. For this mat’s abstract symbols and forms, the artist drew on jeongganbo, a traditional Korean musical notation system in which tone, duration, lyrics, and gesture are all visually represented. In doing so, Kang imagines her own score for sound and movement.
215: Refractions, 2026
Kids label from 215: Refractions , 2026
Imagine this mat is a stage.
Suki Seokyeong Kang made mats that she thought of as little stages. In Korea, where the artist was from, this kind of mat—called a hwamunseok—was once used in a special dance performed for royalty in the 1800s.
What would you do if you could perform on this stage? Even a big jump, spin, or dance might feel small.
215: Refractions, 2026
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Refractions
Gallery 215Over the past 10 years, the artists gathered here have looked prismatically at the world to present new perspectives on contemporary experience.
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