Gyun Hur in front of her solo exhibition, repose
A single image dominates the space of the Get This Gallery in Gyun Hur’s solo exhibition, a gigantic blanket of silk flowers. The pattern is simple, two shades of yellow followed by a green, red, pink, light blue, white, and dark blue before repeating. However, the compulsive cutting, dyeing, and placing of the silk flower pieces was anything but simple.
For a job this big, you would imagine Hur would need help to accomplish her goal and it was no accident that her family was enlisted to prepare her materials. A video in the back of the gallery documents the merrily busy scene of Hur’s father cutting flowers while the artist rhythmically chops pieces of paper. Meanwhile, traditional Korean music and the chatter of gossip help pass the time in the scene, which looks both carefully composed yet also natural. It was her parents’ wedding blanket, which inspired the piece, and this family ritual becomes a sort of sacrament. Hur explains that the process was strangely familiar, as she had grown accustomed to working closely with her parents in a family dry cleaning business while growing up.
The transformation of the chaos of flower pieces into the compulsively controlled installation is something to behold. Most striking perhaps is the view of the piece from above which is visible through a special stairway to the rear of the gallery. A sign poignantly reminds the viewer of how fragile this image still remains. It cautions you not to risk taking a photograph for fear of damaging the flowers below. This quality of the work is the most remarkable as it explodes the idea of the wedding blanket which is so tactile and safe that it feels like a permanent bridge between family members while the installation is so foreign and forbidden.
There is a metaphor of the process in this product, the flowers die only to be rebuilt and then ultimately captured in the form of a limited edition print available through the gallery. There is a certain irony in the idea of being able to capture a snapshot of this elusive image, but perhaps no more unusual than any wedding souvenir. These prints are imbued perhaps with the aura of the experience, one that Atlanta residents can come see for themselves.
Get This Gallery 662 11th. Street, Atlanta, GA 30318
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Wed. - Sat.) and by appointment. | Phone: 678.596.4451
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