A contemporary art exhibition exploring life, gravity, and the meaning of floating existence… running until November 1
 [코리안투데이] Shin Cheon-jae’s Solo Exhibition ‘Gravity Forgot Me: Green Nonviolence’ to Open October 26 at Gallery VIV in Seoul (사진 제공: 문화동행) |
Visual artist Shin Cheon-jae (신천재), who has built a distinctive body of work across diverse media including painting, digital collage, photography, video, and installation, will hold a solo exhibition titled ‘Gravity Forgot Me: Green Nonviolence’ at Gallery VIV in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, from October 26 to November 1.
The exhibition focuses on life and the nonviolence of plants that exist outside human-centered order, exploring the boundaries between gravity and floating, and between survival and extinction, from a new perspective.
In particular, through images of stones, roots, plants, and bodies, Shin raises questions about the physical order and the meaning of existence that we have long taken for granted.
Beings That Escape Gravity, Speaking of New Possibilities for Life
In Shin Cheon-jae’s artistic world, stone is not simply a natural object. Rather, it is closer to a body that has mineralized itself in order to survive.
In the artist’s view, wounds become density, poison becomes hardness, and memory becomes weight. Yet paradoxically, these stones are depicted as beings that rise the heavier they become.
‘Green Nonviolence,’ the core theme of this solo exhibition, refers not to a way of overpowering or resisting an opponent through force, but to the possibility of life that changes the direction of existence itself.
The artist imagines a new way of being that departs from the existing boundaries distinguishing life from non-life, and harm from harmlessness.
A scene in which a potato, placed in a box on a veranda to be eaten, sprouts instead, and flying plants each build their own civilization, symbolically illustrates this artistic imagination.
‘Green Nonviolence,’ a Change in Direction Rather Than Resistance
What stands out in this exhibition is the concept of nonviolence presented by the artist.
Shin Cheon-jae speaks not of being without power, but of changing where that power is directed — germinating instead of being eaten, floating instead of being thrown.
This does not merely express the vitality of nature, but prompts viewers to reconsider the order and values that humans have created.
The old saying that appears in the artist’s notes, “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” is also reinterpreted with new meaning within the work.
If moss blooms on a stone that has stopped and endured, it may not be stagnation, but rather a being that has accumulated by enduring a long period of time.
In this way, Shin Cheon-jae’s work, through the themes of survival and change, memory and accumulation, presents viewers with another possibility of existence.
From Painting to Digital Collage, Shin Cheon-jae Crosses the Boundaries of Media
Shin Cheon-jae is a visual artist who works across diverse media, including painting, digital collage, photography, video, and installation.
Since the first solo exhibition “Uninvited Guest, Viewing Permitted (불청객관람가)” in 2019, the artist has continued to exhibit steadily both at home and abroad.
Having explored the animal self and the plant self within humans, the artist has recently been expanding the scope of their work to include images such as stones, roots, and floating bodies.
In particular, centering on painting, the artist layers various images and materials, combining video and photography to spatially unfold the sense of life, gravity, and floating.
This exhibition, ‘Gravity Forgot Me: Green Nonviolence,’ is expected to be a show that condenses this artistic exploration, offering viewers an opportunity to look anew at the relationship between nature and humanity, matter and life.
Shin Cheon-jae Solo Exhibition to Hold Opening Party on October 31
Shin Cheon-jae’s solo exhibition ‘Gravity Forgot Me: Green Nonviolence’ will be held at Gallery VIV in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, from October 26 to November 1, 2026.
An opening party is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, during the exhibition period.
The exhibition is expected to offer an occasion to reflect on the new direction and possibilities of existence that life creates for itself, departing from the familiar order of gravity.
Exhibition Information
- Title: Gravity Forgot Me: Green Nonviolence
- Artist: Shin Cheon-jae
- Exhibition Period: October 26 (Mon) – November 1 (Sun), 2026
- Opening Party: October 31 (Sat), 2026, 3 p.m.
- Venue: Gallery VIV
- Address: 1st Floor, 23-7 Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- Field: Contemporary art, painting, digital collage, etc.
More detailed viewing information about the exhibition can be found through Gallery VIV.
[ 김현수 기자 ] incheoneast@thekoreantoday.com
| 지역 홍보대사 신청 | 기자양성과정 신청 | 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 |
| 코리안투데이 인천동부 | 코리안브랜드대상 신청 | 글로벌 홍보대사 신청 |
<저작권자 ⓒ 코리안투데이(The Korean Today) 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>
