Volume Gallery is pleased to announce Shape of Land, an exhibition of new paintings and objects by Sung Jang, opening Friday, February 28, 2025, from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Sung Jang’s paintings reflect a complex and evolving dialogue between Eastern and Western traditions. The minimal continent-like shapes allude to the boundaries of unknown rivers and mountains. Textured with inked sand, the abstractions embrace painting’s unique ability to be simultaneously illusory and material, depictive and plastic. 

One of the central inspirations for this body of work are the subjective and imprecise world maps of Korea’s Middle Joseon period of the 18th and 19th century. These maps, more artistic renditions than precise guides for navigation, depicted both geographically and culturally distant lands. Imaginative interpretations of place, they resonate with Jang’s exploration of memory and identity. With these paintings, he obliquely depicts meaningful locations from his personal history, drawing from memories of landscapes he's traversed. 

In his Shape of Land paintings, including a new six-panel screen, Jang merges diverse geographies and time periods into single, unified compositions. By blending distinct locations and memories, he creates multidimensional landscapes. The painted shapes function as cartographic forms and abstract representations of natural landscapes, offering multiple viewpoints and inviting the viewer to experience time and space in a non-linear, layered manner. Jang is developing a visual language that captures the fluidity of memory, place, and identity, while also honoring the traditions that have shaped his perspective.

Sung Jang’s Given pieces are symbiotic combinations of found stones and wood bases. He constructs bases that act like pedestals, highlighting the beauty of the found stones. With their light touch, the pieces reflect a traditional Korean dynamic with nature, one of appreciation and respect. Jang is interested in honoring the condition and history of the stones just as they are, marking the stones with the latitude, longitude, and time of where and when he finds them.

Sung Jang’s unique perspective, combined with an instinctive understanding of materials, reflects his interest in nature and the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world.

Shape of Land will be on view through April 12, 2025.

Sung Jang is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a fine arts degree and Domus Academy in Milano with a Masters in Design. Sung began his design career in Milano at Samsung Design Milano before taking on a teaching career as a faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Designed Objects program. Since 2013, Sung has served at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Design as an Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies to the Industrial Design program. Sung has worked with international brands such as Louis Vuitton, Guzzini, and Roche Bobois and been represented internationally at Venice Biennale, Design Miami, Victoria and Albert Museum, Volume Gallery, Armory Show, Chamber NYC among others.

Through his design and research practice, Sung Jang Laboratory, Sung strives to compose works that carry significance beyond functional extent which display and initiate dialogues regarding design’s roles and capabilities in social, cultural, emotional, artistic realms. One of Sung’s research interest is to understand and articulate qualitative attributes such as beauty, elegance, and extravagance in clear set of insights as methodology for design. In parallel to the independent practice, Sung serves as a partner in Article, LLC, a design consultancy based in Chicago.

Image: Sung Jang, Shape of Land, 2024