Guggenheim Museum Exhibitions The Collection Education Museum Store Membership Visit Us Search
1860-1869
1870-1879
1880-1889
1890-1899
1900-1909
1910-1919
1920-1929
1930-1939
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009
SEARCH
Shortcut Help
Full search
DIRECTORIES
Artist Movement
Title Medium
Date Concept
Museum
<Previous 1990-1999 work Next 1990-1999 work>
Oslo
Enlarge
Koo Joeng-a, Oslo, 1998. Crushed aspirin, wood, and blue light, Variable dimensions. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Purchased with funds contributed by the Young Collectors Council, 2003. 2003.62.




Sometimes you don’t need five tons of Cor-ten steel or an array of special effects to command a gallery space. The light from the window and dust gathering on the floor are enough; besides, it’s often what is hidden or nearly absent that we find most compelling. Using quiet, almost imperceptible means, Koo Jeong-a (b. 1967, Seoul) subtly intervenes in existing locations by altering the dimensions, ambience, and contents of a given space. Noticing one of her works might, for example, be contingent simply upon registering the sudden change of illumination in a room. Her installations and sculptures, which resemble miniature landscapes or suggest enigmatic narrative tableaux, are made from fragile and often unlikely materials: crumpled paper, discarded children’s toys, or hundreds of cigarettes neatly stacked in rows. The snowy-white contours of Oslo (1998), comprised of piles of crushed aspirin, are illuminated by a spotlight, like mountain peaks beneath a cold, northern light. Another delicate work constructed from sugar cubes and cardboard is small enough to rest on a window sill, while others, like Oslo, despite taking up a mere corner of the physical space, can occupy an entire room by virtue of their very quietude.

Meghan Dailey