The Page Gallery is pleased to present the solo exhibition of Chong Gon Byun (b.1948), consisting of 24 artworks produced from 1997 to 2013, on view from 22 December to 3 February 2024.   

Receiving an award at the first Donga-Ilbo Art competition in 1978 for his hyperrealism as a reflection of Korean society, he was considered one of the rising artists. However, due to the political oppression from the Korean government, he immigrated to the US at the age of thirty-three. Despite his hope to become a full-time artist, due to financial reasons, he began collecting discarded but usable items from flea markets and secondhand bookstores.   

While collecting disposed items - such as refrigerators, fans, radios, and furniture - from the streets of NYC, Chong Gon Byun reminisced about the catalog book his grandmother brought from the US military in his childhood. Soon, he developed his passion for these discarded items from these memories, creating a series of collections of repurposed oeuvres. Taking an unorthodox approach to his works, he merged objects from worldwide and elements of art, science, religion, and philosophy, establishing his visual language through the collection of oeuvres, earning him an acclamation from the US critics. His works are in the collections of the Albany Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Indianapolis Museum of Art. His documentary, directed by Marie Rose, was screened at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.   

The exhibition, including works created between 1997 and 2013, magnifies the subjects of art history, movies, literature, and religious symbols, tracing to Chong Gon Byun's childhood memories and the struggles the world underwent on the verge of the 21st century. His satirical and humorous approach to the oeuvres testifies to his life in New York City as an immigrant and an artist for the last forty years.    

Chon Gon Byun (b.1948, Daegu, Korea) now resides and works in New York, USA. He held his solo exhibitions at Yongeun Museum of Contemporary Art (2019); Pohang Museum of Steel Art (2014); Gwangju Museum of Art (2014); and participated in group exhibitions at Daegu Art Museum (2022); Seoul Museum of Art (2011); Smithsonian American Art Museum (2002); Samsung Museum of Art (2001). His works are held in the collections of the Albany Museum of Art (Georgia, USA); Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA); Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indiana, USA); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul, Korea); Hanlim Museum of Art (Daejeon, Korea); Daegu Art Museum (Daegu, Korea); Yongeun Museum of Contemporary Art (Gyeonggi, Korea); Suwon Museum of Art (Suwon, Korea); Gwangju Museum of Art (Gwangju, Korea); Pohang Museum of Art (Pohang); among other institutions.