US art collective-exhibition
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| ▲ MSCHF CEO Gabriel Whaley (3rd from L) speaks during a press conference at Daelim Museum in Seoul on Nov. 8, 2023, two days prior to the opening of the group's exhibition "Nothing is Sacred." (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ "Satan Shoes," a collaboration between MSCHF and rapper Lil Nas X, is on display at Daelim Museum in Seoul on Nov. 8, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ A visitor looks at the works by MSCHF at Daelim Museum in Seoul on Nov. 8, 2023. (Yonhap) |
US art collective-exhibition
Art collective 'MSCHF' to Seoul: Nothing is Sacred!!!
By Woo Jae-yeon
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- MSCHF, a New York-based collective, is known for its uniquely satirical viewpoint and humor: It made a pair of Nike shoes that contained the blood of their employees; it cut up Damien Hirst's US$30,000 spot painting to sell the 108 spots.
The mischievous -- and reckless for some -- group is set to showcase more than 100 pieces of their works that defy traditional categorization and art standards in Seoul, in its first-ever museum-scale exhibition.
"It is an honor to have a moment to reflect and look back" on the group's rich body of creative works over the past 4 1/2 years, Lukas Bentel, chief creative officer at MSCHF, said at a press conference at Seoul's Daelim Museum on Wednesday, two days prior to the opening of the show "Nothing is Sacred."
"We do really want to make art that reaches out into the real world," he said, hoping the exhibition can "inspire other people to make art that doesn't just live in the gallery space."
Early this year, Daelim Museum offered an exhibition proposal to the group, out of belief that the museum and the collective share a vision to make everyday life into art.
"We are just lucky to have gotten chosen, to be honest. It is really exciting to be the first exhibition (of Daelim) after the pandemic," MSCHF CEO Gabriel Whaley said.
"Personally, I think there is such an electric, creative energy and soul (in Seoul) that I don't think actually exists in New York City," he said.
The exhibition presents "boundary-pushing ideas that encourage the disruption of social and cultural norms, and weaponize the easily digestible objects and imagery of popular culture as the vehicle to deliver their message," the museum said.
Divided into five sections, the exhibition displays the collective's famous footwear, including the blood-containing Satan Shoes, over which Nike sued MSCHF, the holy water-containing Jesus shoes and the outrageously outsized Big Red Boots.
Visitors can also see the 999 "impeccable" counterfeits of Andy Warhol's $20,000 "Fairies." The group sold 1,000 drawings, including the real one, for $250 apiece in 2021, claiming that "They are all definitely by MSCHF, and also all possibly by Andy Warhol. Any record of which piece within the set is the original has been destroyed."
"Everything from life objects in your daily life to systems that dictate how you live, can be used as a tool to express an idea to an audience," Whaley said.
"If you want to make art, you don't have to be limited to what tradition dictates as an artistic format," he said, adding, "We hope that when people walk through the exhibition, they walk away realizing that the world is so much bigger than we can even imagine."
The exhibition will open Friday and run through March 31.
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