Title
TRACING LIGHT
Artist
Opening Reception
Exhibition Period
AP SPACE is proud to present TRACING LIGHT, a highly anticipated solo exhibition by South Korean contemporary artist Yoo Choong Mok.
"A single drop of water holds the entire continuum of time—capturing the essence of the past and the promise of the future all at once."
Featuring a meticulously curated selection of new glass-on-canvas works and structural installations, the exhibition invites viewers into a profound sensory exploration of time, light, and the fluidity of human memory.
In this exhibition, the fluid transparency of glass becomes a conceptual vessel. Yoo captures the elusive qualities of light and freeze-frames them into physical existence, allowing us to witness the eternal convergence of what was and what is yet to be.
Yoo Choong Mok’s practice operates at the vanguard of material experimentation, seamlessly bridging traditional Korean aesthetics with contemporary Western modernism. At the heart of his visual language is the "Water Droplet"—a hyper-realistic, high-gloss glass form that acts as a phenomenological lens.
The core philosophy of TRACING LIGHT lies in the poetic stillness of the droplet. To Yoo, a water droplet is a mirror to the soul and a capsule of time. It holds the gravity of the past—the heritage, the memories, and the ancient architectural patterns that inform his identity—while simultaneously reflecting the immediate, changing present of the New York skyline. By capturing this duality, Yoo achieves a rare artistic resolution: making the transient permanent, and giving a solid form to the invisible passage of time.
TRACING LIGHT offers the New York art community a rare moment of pause and meditation. It is an invitation to slow down, to perceive the subtle shifts of color and shadow, and to discover the vast, infinite world contained within a single drop of water.
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Artist
Choongmok Yoo is a Korean artist whose work reflects a deep conversation between tradition and modernity. Born in 1977, he studied Environmental Art and Design at Namseoul University before continuing his education in the UK, where he earned a master’s degree in Visual Practice at the University of Sunderland. He later returned to Korea to complete doctoral research at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. After spending nearly ten years living and working in the U.S. and UK, Yoo came back home with a desire to reconnect with his roots and to explore what it means to carry history forward in a rapidly changing world. His work has since been exhibited internationally and acquired by public and private collections in Korea, Europe, and the U.S., earning honors such as the NICHE Award and the National Glass Center Grand Prize.
Yoo’s recent work focuses on the form of glass water droplets, arranged delicately across yellow-stained wood panels. These droplets, shaped with care and intention, seem to shift depending on the light or the viewer’s position, casting shadows that move and evolve throughout the day. Drawing from the traditional Korean color system of obangsaek and the decorative painting style of dancheong, Yoo offers his own interpretation: one that blends emotion, memory, and a quiet sense of time passing. Each droplet feels personal, almost like a fragment of his lived experience. Together, they form a landscape that’s both intimate and open, an invitation to pause, to reflect, and to notice what often goes unseen.
