For press

Press Kit

Biography, fact sheet, selected works and press contact. High-resolution images and interviews available on request — hyun-eya@hanmail.net.

Fact sheet

Name
CHUNG Hyun (정현, 鄭鉉)
Born
1956, Incheon, South Korea
Based
Paju, South Korea
Education
Hongik University (BFA, MFA) · École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris (1990)
Gallery
PKM Gallery, Seoul
Media
Railroad ties, asphalt, charred wood, scrap iron, bronze, plaster, coal
Known for
The Standing Man (서 있는 사람 / L’homme debout) series
Honors
Artist of the Year, MMCA (2006) · Kim Sechoong Sculpture Award (2014) · Kim Bok-jin Art Award (2024)

Biography

CHUNG Hyun (b. 1956, Incheon) is one of the most distinctive Korean sculptors of his generation. For more than three decades he has given form to discarded, weathered materials — railroad ties, asphalt, charred wood and scrap iron — drawing from their accumulated time and scars a spare, resilient image of the human being. Named Artist of the Year by Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in 2006, he made his Paris debut with L’homme debout at the Jardin du Palais-Royal in 2016 and presented a solo booth at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2024. He is represented by PKM Gallery, Seoul.

Full biography → Full CV → Press & texts →

In his words

  • “Nothing in the world is worthless — attend to the things that don’t shine.”
  • “A hardship well endured is always beautiful.”
  • “The material that has endured a long time is itself the work; its texture is its spirit.”

Selected works

High-resolution files for press use are available on request. Credit line: © CHUNG Hyun. Courtesy of the artist and PKM Gallery.

The Standing Man, 2016, railroad tie, H 250x340cm each, 48ea; installation at Jardin du Palais-Royal, Paris
The Standing Man, 2016, railroad tie, H 250x340cm each, 48ea; installation at Jardin du Palais-Royal, Paris
The Standing Man, 2019, railroad tie, H 250x340cm, 44ea; installation at Seosomun Shrine History Museu
The Standing Man, 2019, railroad tie, H 250x340cm, 44ea; installation at Seosomun Shrine History Museu
Untitled 21, oriental ink tinted on wood, 280x335x335cm, 2018; installation at the Kumho Museum of Art
Untitled 21, oriental ink tinted on wood, 280x335x335cm, 2018; installation at the Kumho Museum of Art
Untitled, ascon, 51x270x52cm, 2004
Untitled, ascon, 51x270x52cm, 2004
Untitled, coal, 33.5x72x28cm, 2005
Untitled, coal, 33.5x72x28cm, 2005
Untitled, plaster, manila hemp, coal tar, 90.5x32.5x24.5cm, 1988
Untitled, plaster, manila hemp, coal tar, 90.5x32.5x24.5cm, 1988

Press contact

Interviews, high-resolution images, studio visits:
hyun-eya@hanmail.net
Representation & sales: PKM Gallery, Seoul