August 3, 2015 | Posted in:Vellum News

Tae-Jin-Seong-Carved-Wood-Panel-Paintings-02Gallery-LVS_Tae-Jin-Seong_Always-Reminded-122x80-cm-Acrylic-on-embossed-wood-panel-2011_thumb (2)1426693748_________________After_love__________________acrylic_and_ink_on_embossed_wood_panel__170x105cm__2015Gallery-LVS_Tae-Jin-Seong_I-had-a-dream-162x100-cm-Acrylic-on-embossed-wood-panel-2011_thumb (2)Tae-Jin-Seong-Carved-Wood-Panel-Paintings-03_thumbTae-Jin-Seong-Carved-Wood-Panel-Paintings-01_thumb우리는-노래하는-해적-We-are-the-singing-pirates-1024x677 (2)011734성태진_반드시-그-뜻-이루도록_60x120cm_Embossed-work-on-wood_2010-758x1024 (2)

Tae Jin Seong carries on the old traditions of printmaking. Using a single piece of wood he carves narratives into stories about common villages filled with superheroes, old samurai, and comic book characters. However, instead of using the plate to make prints he directly applies heavy paint onto the carved surface to make one unique picture. The end result is a New York Times sized visual steeped in beautiful woodwork and pigment. He chooses to use vibrant graffiti-inspired hues to create his statement. These bright aesthetics carefully pop off the surface in various pinks and blues, in line with Warhol and 90’s cartoons such as Ren and Stimpy, Animaniacs and Pinky and The Brain. There are carved Korean letters hidden in the background which appear as some kind of secret code. Their significance is deliberately left up to the viewer’s imagination. In the end, Seong’s delicate cuts unlock a different kind of building block theory, one that changes from moment to moment in the crowded streets of a fictional village depending on how your eye decides to consume it all. Because of the unique surface, the sculptural elements evoke a myriad of shapes satisfying the spectator in a number of subtle, subconscious ways.