JANG KOAL: SOLITARY INN
NANZUKA is pleased to present “Solitary Inn,” a solo exhibition of new works by Seoul-based artist Jang Koal, at NANZUKA UNDERGROUND. This is Jang Koal’s third exhibition at NANZUKA, and her first solo show in the main gallery.
May 16 – June 21, 2025
Known for her contemporary portraits of female figures painted on “hanji,” a traditional Korean paper made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, Jang Koal has created a world of work that blends the traditional and the contemporary.
The exhibition, entitled “Solitary Inn” takes as its theme a fictional inn prepared for those solitary yet somehow comforting moments when individuals quietly immerse themselves in their past memories and inner worlds. Each “room”, the backseat of a car, the sun filtering through the trees, an aquarium are all private places that permeate with an air of darkness, mystery, fear, and hidden excitement. These spaces are colored with light that evokes memories of the past, and at the same time, exude a certain mystical quality, as if implicating the manifesting presence of the coming moment.
Jang Koal sits in her Seoul studio every day, gazing out the same window, her canvas. Her shifting heart is reflected in the ever-changing landscape that is observed. Seeping through bricks and wires of cityscapes and the lush greenery of foliage are loneliness, solitude, and the rare, fleeting light of hope. The paintings capture traces of these emotions, gently laying down ephemeral memories and moments submerged beneath consciousness onto a mirror made of hanji.
“Solitary Inn” is an imaginary inn.
It does not wait for anyone to visit.
Instead, each room is a space for an individual.
Here, fragments of life, unforgettable hope, and faint remnants of memories quietly reside.
The figures in these paintings are imagined rather than portraits of specific people.
They are elusive, difficult to read solitary beings with resilient inner worlds, each staying in their own room.
As viewers wander through the rooms of this solitary inn, they may find themselves lingering in one.
Some rooms feel like old, familiar thoughts; others, like emotions yet to be encountered.
This place is meant both for staying and for passing through. Perhaps, much like life itself.
― Jang Koal