Bahk Seon-ghi

signed in Korean and dated 2007

This work is in good condition overall. There are no apparent condition issues with this work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Sitting quietly on the bed of the couch is a dish holding four apples.  One has fallen out and is rolled to the side.  Reclining against the back is an inviting little pillow, plump and soft.  To the right is a slim, unassuming bar that curves into an armrest.  The entire arrangement is cloaked with an immaculate white, as if frozen in time.  Having studied sculpture in Korea and in Italy, Bahk Seon Ghi skillfully presents in plain view a superbly ordinary piece of furniture tinged with an air of the quotidian.  Move a little to the left and one is confronted with the realization that nothing is ordinary about this couch at all.  It only seems that way from one single perspective.  Any other vantage point reveals the truth—a flattened entity whose original identity was a long reclining chair with a plate filled with fruit on top.  Aptly named, Point of View 06-06 is the physical embodiment of an optical trick.  

Bahk Seon Ghi often chooses as his subject matter inanimate objects that are so integrated into our lives that they often go completely unnoticed.  Books, glasses, chairs or tables—his earnest representation of the overlooked bestows his works with a refined aura like that which permeates the pictorial space of a classical still-life painting.  Building upon an aesthetic evocative of a distant past, he creates sculpture that even compels us to revolve around it and to survey it from every point of view.  Failure to do so results in an utterly inaccurate interpretation.  The fine line dividing reality and illusion is thoroughly exploited in Bahk's Point of View series.  He invites his audience to discover for themselves the blatant misalignment between what is perceived to be true and what really is true.  Doubt is reintroduced into our perception of our surroundings, culminating in the artist's successful feat of securing our persistent pursuit for the truth.