Classical Mechanics

Myeongsoo Kim and Cy Morgan

Curated by Wangui Maina and Mo Kong

November 18 - December 11, 2021

Press:

The Brooklyn Rail, Amanda Millet-Sorsa.

Press Release

Def: physical theory describing the motion of macroscopic objects, from projectiles to parts of machinery, and astronomical objects, such as spacecraft, planets, stars, and galaxies. For objects governed by classical mechanics, if the present state is known, it is possible to predict how it will move in the future (determinism), and how it has moved in the past (reversibility).

Classical Mechanics features the work of Myeongsoo Kim and Cy Morgan. The practice of each artist stems from a curious exploration of materiality that arranges parts which exist as building blocks used to construct the environments around us. Each artist uses these materials to connect to events that have passed or to have some understanding of what is in store in the future. Morgan’s approach is a process that aims to make sense of macro topics that influence our collective society but are impossible to resolve with a simple answer. How can we understand the passage of time and the effect that we have on a future which we are unable to know for certain that we have influenced? 

Similarly, Kim’s interests lie with the transformation of materials over time through bio/chemical reactions, such as mold and oxidation, or through the intervention of his own hand. With a background in architecture, it is no surprise that the artist takes a modular approach to building three dimensional forms and layered images. The constructed landscapes in his photographic works almost read as natural from far away, but upon closer inspection are distorted and artificially constructed.   Both artists' curiosity about time, how it is measured, how it may be influenced, and what evidence we have to describe individual changes asks the viewer to also consider their own place in relation to the world around them. 

Myeongsoo Kim studied architecture in his native Korea prior to coming to the United States in 2002 to pursue visual art. In 2009, he received a BFA with a concentration on sculpture, followed by an MFA from Yale University in 2011. At Yale, he deepened his investigation into the connection between a desire to revive and relive memories and the constantly changing nature of the materials which act as conduits for transference and recollection. Since 2011, he has been actively producing and showing work in Brooklyn, NY. Most recently, he participated in the 2019 BRIC Biennial at BRIC in Brooklyn, NY, and the Brave New World Photo Festival at the Seoul Museum of Art in Seoul, Korea. 

Cy Morgan lives and works in New York where he makes transitory and figurative things, which he imagines might have good reasons to evade definition. He is a Fellow of the LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies at Columbia University. His work has been exhibited in New York, NY, New Jersey and Venice, Italy.