STICKYMONGER: SEE-THROUGH
NANZUKA is pleased to present “See-Through,” a solo exhibition of new works by Stickymonger at NANZUKA UNDERGROUND. This marks the artist’s second solo showing at NANZUKA, and serves as the artist’s first solo exhibition in the main gallery.
November 22 – December 27, 2025
Stickymonger is an artist born in Korea who currently lives and works in New York. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Information Design from Ewha Womans University (Seoul), she obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts from Pratt Institute (New York).
The artist has presented solo exhibitions at numerous galleries, including Ross + Kramer Gallery (New York, Miami), WOAW Gallery (Miami), Villazan Gallery (Madrid), Four You Gallery (Paris, Dubai), Allouche Gallery (New York), and AFA Gallery (New York). Her work has also been featured at major international art fairs such as Art Basel Miami Beach and Frieze Seoul and Frieze New York. In addition, she has undertaken a range of creative projects, most notably producing a large-scale mural for the New York public art initiative The World Trade Center Mural Project and participating in a group exhibition at D Museum (Seoul).
Stickymonger explores the depth of human emotion through her work by effortlessly blending together contrasting elements such as reality and imagination, innocence and horror, while drawing influence from the Surrealist movement, films from the late 1970s to the 1990s, and Japanese manga and anime.
In terms of technique, the artist works primarily with spray paint — a medium traditionally associated with street art and graffiti — while exploring its potential as a contemporary fine art medium. Rather than merely filling surfaces, she creates unpredictable lines, splatters, and textures by manipulating pressure and blending water- and solvent-based spray paints. Drawing inspiration from master painters, including the layered techniques of Renaissance oil painting and the surface-scraping methods of Gerhard Richter, she describes this experimental approach as “Spray Painterly.” The term reflects her unique method of applying spray paint, bringing depth, complexity, and a painterly sensibility to her work.
This exhibition presents 21 new spray paintings based on the theme “See-Through,” delicately depicting moments where humor and introspection intersect through the coalescence of everyday objects and surreal scenes.
The word “See-Through” harbors a mysterious meaning that serves to stimulate Stickymonger’s imagination.
They filter light as we look at the world, allowing us to hide while we observe. This quiet control — taking only what we choose while offering little in return — grants a subtle kind of power.
The literal meaning of See-Through is equally compelling. One can often glimpse a person’s inner world simply by looking at their bookshelf. Objects and gazes connect us, separated only by a thin, transparent layer from others.
The exhibition extends from the diverse and nuanced aspects of See-Through. It balances concealment and display, visibility and translucence — a delicate negotiation that defines its essence.
-Stickymonger
The new works in the exhibition feature numerous everyday objects that evoke a sense of nostalgia, such as a pair of neon-colored sunglasses and a sun visor, a coveted veil, frosted glass shelves filled with an assortment of cherished knickknacks, and colorful, glossy gummies and jellies. The works present viewers with the impression as if glimpsing into the artist’s own history, being born and raised in Korea during the turbulent 1990s, then moving to New York to build a career.
The girls who inhabit the surreal worlds depicted in these works, embody the notion of “cute” born from the rich and exquisitely sticky intertwining of influences from the pop cultures of Korea, the United States, and Japan. Stickymonger, using herself as a test subject, is perhaps attempting to skillfully manipulate and present to us the two ambivalent psychologies of young girls— “the desire to conceal yet reveal just enough,” and “the desire to be alone, yet also wanting to connect with others.”