For Frieze 2014, artist Koo Jeong A has created Cedric & FRAND, a sculpture of magnets for a solo presentation at Pilar Corrias’ stand. Comprising thousands of ferrite magnet units, the work considers how electromagnetic power governs the universe, an invisible force affecting all of the living creatures within it.
Fascinated by the properties of magnetic fields and the way the aggregation of magnets simulates the pull and push of human networks, she is also inspired by the English architect Cedric Price (1934 – 2003). While only one of his schemes was ever built, the Aviary at London Zoo in 1961, he was prolific in his architectural designs. One of his later projects in 1997 was Magnet, an unrealised project where Price used ‘anticipatory architecture’ to devise ten city structures that, via public amenities, would stimulate new patterns of public movement. It is this project that has particularly influenced Koo Jeong A in her work.
The title of the piece at Frieze 2014, Cedric & FRAND, directly references Price while ‘FRAND’ stands for ‘fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory’ – the rules that govern patent licensing. Koo Jeong A has employed magnets previously in her work, one of which, Cedric, 2003, is included in the Tate’s permanent collection. This piece for Pilar Corrias marks the first time that she has used magnets on such a large scale. To complement the sculpture, she will also present a new series of around 30 works on paper, that will occupy the entire wall surface of the Pilar Corrias booth.
Koo Jeong A was born in Seoul, Korea. Since the early 1990s, she has made works that are seemingly casual and commonplace, yet at the same time remarkably precise, deliberate, and considered. Her reflections on the senses incorporate objects, still and moving images, audio elements, and smells within site-specific environments that question the limits of fact and fiction, the imaginary and actuality of our world. She lives and works everywhere.
Pilar Corrias
Booth B19
Frieze Art Fair
Regent’s Park, London
15-18 October 2014