ARTISTS / Iurum
1971 Born in South Korea
Ewha Womans University Graduate School, Visual Design, Ph.D.
Ewha Womans University, Graduate School, Information Design, M.F.A.
Ewha Womans University, College of Art & Design, sculpture, B.F.A.
Artist Iurum (b. 1971) was born in Korea and earned a Bachelor's degree in Sculpture Art, a Master's degree in Information Design, and a Ph.D. in Visual Design from Ewha Womans University. Iurum has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Korea, such as Taehwa River International Installation Art Festival (2011) and the 5th Blossom Art Fair (2023). Since 2004, Iurum has also held several solo exhibitions that have received enthusiastic responses from the Korean art world.
In her series of works, "SWEETCH: Summon to Happiness" and "SWEETCH: Life in Ice Cream," Iurum uses mixed media to create miniature figures within ice creams, which are experiencing different stages of life. By using "food" as a visual symbol, she attempts to stimulate the viewer's sensory perception and evoke memories of the sweetness which brought happiness in childhood. This allows for the positive reconstruction of hidden anxieties and dark memories within one's mind. The ice cream displays various scenes from life, such as a mother playing with her child, a child riding a skateboard, men and women preparing for a date, a man commuting via taxi, an elderly couple taking a walk, and a mother and daughter attending a funeral… In other words, the ice cream serves as a way to summon negative potential memories or emotions through the medium which essentially conveys happiness. These repressed negative emotions buried in subconsciousness include not only those caused by traumatic events but also everyday anxieties that are rooted in the uncertainty of human life.
The works on display each showcase different situations and emotions that one might experience in life, from joy and happiness to loneliness and sadness. Through a single moment's freeze-frame, the viewer can feel the flow of these emotions deep in heart. By reflecting the ordinary material as ice cream, Iurum invites the viewers to re-examine those ordinary yet precious moments of life from a new humanistic perspective.
Solo Exhibition
2022
Life in Ice Cream - B-tree Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2021
SWEETCH - Gallery L’espace71, Seoul, South Korea
2014
SWEETS - Gallery EM, Seoul, Korea
2013
Summon to Happiness - Gallery YOO ART SPACE, Seoul, South Korea
Dalgona - Magician de Oz, Seoul, South Korea
2011
DEAR - MIEL, Seoul, South Korea
2005
BECOMING - Gallery KYO, Tokyo, Japan
2004
Iurum Solo Exhibition - Gallery ARTSIDE, Seoul, South Korea
Group Exhibition
2023
Portrait: Infinite and Beyond Group Exhibition, Touch Gallery, Hong Kong
5th Blossom art fair - Shinsaegae Department store, Seoul, South Korea
Balanced Vol.5 - B-tree gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2022
Present is PRESENT - B-tree gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2021
Um...Love Scened - Ewha Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
2018
EWHA ART FAIR - Ewha Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
2013
Combined Bits - Gallery l’espace71, Seoul, South Korea
2012
Design505 - Insa Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
A bit combined - Gallery 5pointz, Seoul, South Korea
Big Small - Won Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2011
LIVE FICTION - Deokwon Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
TEAF2011 Taehwa River International Installation Art Festival, Ulsan, South Korea
Design505 - Ewha Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
THE LINER - Insa Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
FUNFUNFUN - 55 degrees, Seoul, South Korea
2010
Design505 - Ehwa Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
picture of a note Exhibition - Moknam Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
2009
EhwaYeon - Gallery Ben, Seoul, South Korea
HOUSE - 3rd Summerfish Project / Seoul
2008
One Day Arty Show - 2nd Summerfish Project, Seoul, South Korea
REBORN - 1st Summerfish Project, Seoul, South Korea
2004
LIFE TREE - Jinheung Art Hall, Seoul, South Korea
1994
Alumni Exhibition of Ewha Womans University College of Art & Design - Hangaram Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea