Good morning Korea

Studio time

2008-12-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

Before Van Gallery Opening

2008-12-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

I want to introduce you my new work; “Wolf & piano” and “Flamingo & bike” paintings, “Nice” photo and “Artificial life” installation (washing machine full of fake plants). The installation pretends to explore the idea of what artificial is the beauty that born from the concept of power, but at the same time, how real is…
I am interesting about how real are artificial things.
“Nice” photo expose the relation ship between beauty and power. I took that picture in the North Korea line (DMZ) from South Korea. The picture is complete real; I just change the colour of camouflage. It is funny to find a camouflage building in the middle of nothing…I like the camouflage of the building because it is like a nice dress, the building is ready for the 2 world powers meeting (Capitalism and communism). Soldiers were not very happy when I took the picture…
The paintings represent beauty as a vehicle (Flamingo & bike) and creation as power (Wolf & piano). Because of that I put “beauty” outside the gallery and “power” inside.
Tomorrow I will start with the live action in the gallery…

Yaiza Nicolás at Van Gallery

2008-11-30T00:06:00.000-08:00

Next Tuesday, December 2nd at 18:00h., I will present my last work “Artificial life” in Van Gallery, Seoul, Korea. If you are in the city it will be a pleasure to meet you there!

Artificial life is a project based on the representation of collective desire. The Spanish artist, after her experience in Korea, thinks beauty is one of the main general concerns in Korean culture because of its close relationship with power.
Artificial life interprets the concept of beauty based on the principles of aesthetics and youth, and aims to provide a reflection on the relationship between art, creation and beauty.
Visitors to the exhibit will be portrayed by Yaiza Nicolás as part of a life action. These portraits will be used in a future exhibition in Barcelona, Spain, in 2009.

SSamzie Window Gallery

2008-11-29T22:48:00.000-08:00

Kyoto, Japan

2008-11-29T22:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I arrived from Japan; I was in Nara and Kyoto. The concept of beauty born in a Japanese garden…I have never seen something like that before.
For the people that believe in god, and are good, I recommend to take a look to a Japanese garden. From my point of view they could imagine how paradise is.

I broke the screen play of my photo camera in Japan, and it is very funny because it works but I can not see what I am shooting… Please take note that I do not have any idea of what is in the camera still I connected to a computer…

Artist JeongMee Yoon

2008-11-12T08:09:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet artist JeongMee Yoon at my Open Studio!
She is absolutely nice. Thank you JeongMee, and again congratulations for your work.

A kind of Korean Saint Valentine

2008-11-12T07:40:00.001-08:00

A famous biscuits brand invent that the 11 of November is a kind of Korean Saint Valentine and this is my out door studio installation.

Korean retro style

2008-11-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

I found this image this morning… I love it.

New studio

2008-11-09T06:04:00.001-08:00

This is me in my new studio… Seoul is getting colder and colder (I’m afraid about December)

Tokyo 2

2008-11-09T05:44:00.000-08:00

Tokyo

2008-11-09T03:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was in Tokyo… In Tokyo the future is already past (but in the airport). I was surprise with the city landscape, the lights at night and the amount of people (full of westerns comparing with Seoul)… you really fill packed! It was an intense weekend, 4 days, 3 nights, 2 parties… crazy Tokyo.

Japanese food in Seoul

2008-10-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Today I tried the original Japanese noodles in Seoul. It was good as my grandmother’s food…

Happy birthday Cristina!!!

2008-10-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

From the highest point I can get right now, I want to say happy birthday Cristina!!!
Cristina, this is for you:

Police

2008-10-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was eating an ice-cream in the street and this is what I found… First time I saw so many police… It was Hallowing!

Agitpunkt café

2008-10-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today there was a performance at the Agitpunkt café, the owner is friend of my friend Ham and we usually go to take coffee. Tonight a German artist made a performance and made me feel that human thoughts are always around love and death… there’s nothing more? Always the same, love, death, love death, death love....
Sorry, too much painting for today. Painting make people get crazy.

My desktop

2008-10-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

This is how my desktop looks like… sometimes I think that tools for produce art are more interesting than the artworks in it self… sometimes not.

Yesterday’s performance

2008-10-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in a performance out of Seoul; I just wanted to share with you some images.

U studio

2008-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

U Juju, SSamzie Space artist resident (left) invite me to dinner in her studio… her studio is full of toys and pink things… incredible

SSamzie Space Open

2008-10-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

This is my studio and that girl is Jihye Kim, she is my painting assistant (she is very good, I’m very happy to work with her) we are working hard because I’m preparing the SSamzie Space Open Studio for November 7th… I cover the image of the canvas in white with Photoshop… I will show it when it will be finished.

After Loop Opening

2008-10-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

After the opening in Loop Gallery we were in Korean restaurant eating a Korean barbeque and after… Yes, karaoke, and this time I sang (creep, Radiohead). It was only once and I could do it just after some beers… A glariest from Austria, after sang, said to me”come on you have nothing to loose” and I said “Yes, my dignity”… I suggest him to build a karaoke in his gallery and he loved the idea.

SSamzie Space crew

2008-10-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I presented my work to SSamzie Space artists and curators. This is the main crew.

Apartment

2008-10-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Super nice, Chae Eunyoung, curator, lend me an apartment for 2 weeks. I’m painting with oil in the studio and the smell is very strong (but mosquitos samurais, as I call Korean mosquito, are still alive)

Homemade transformer

2008-10-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

The other day a friend of Ham bring a home-made transformer… I love transformers

My friend Ham

2008-10-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ham and me in her exhibition

Persian carpet made of petrol

Hello, I want to introduce you my new friend, Ham Kyungah, sometimes she reminds me my friend Carmen Osuna. Ham is a very well know artist in Korea and this is her last work…

After Changdong Open Studio

2008-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Always there is something after an opening… It was the first time I went a karaoke… I didn’t sing, yet.

Changdong Open Studio

2008-10-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in the Changdong Open Studio. I like the way artists care to detail in their work…

Trendy

2008-10-07T07:19:00.001-07:00

You want to know what’s trendy here… check this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF-AtIugofs

Here sounds everywhere…

Day and night

2008-10-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

...I feel that in my study, time passes in a different way...

SSamzie Space

2008-10-06T01:47:00.000-07:00

This is the back door of SSamzie Space (the art residence where am I). I will show you the artist’s studios later. Now I have to work… that means that I will publish with less frequency. Thank you for your interest and not hesitate to write me: yaizanicolas@gmail.com
Very best

Street food

2008-10-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

I do not try to eat in the street yet, because I think that I will have stomach pain… Let’s see when I can resist.

Fashion

2008-10-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

Here, in Seoul, people take a lot of care about their appearance. There are interesting in fashion, beauty and body shape. Koreans are not hairy people and theirs skins looks younger. Most of them are thin and they look clean, it seems that they just taking a shower. In my neighbourhood there are a lot of shops like that.

Checking my neighbourhood

2008-10-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

At the moment I just had time to check my neighbourhood… Here the streets do not have name and most people do not speak English… Actually when I go out by my self, people look at me like I am an extraterrestrial… Something different here is that the streets are very safety. People are very respectful, no thieves, no aggressive drunks... (Well, at the moment...)

Openings everywhere

2008-10-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was walking in my neighbourhood and I found and opening. The young artist explained to me how the strawberry, which was disappointed with the world, tried to escape of the airport. I like the simplicity of Korean young artist talking about their feelings.

No washing machine

2008-10-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I went to the laundry … I found the temple of clean jackets.
Picture how proud the owner look like.

How Fine Arts students get fun

2008-10-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

Yesterday night Sunny took me to see a Fine Arts students show… Yes, that’s strange for me too….

What’s for lunch?

2008-10-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

I do not remember the name of this wonderful food, but it was some thing with tuna… I do not try the dog yet.

Office

2008-10-02T05:10:00.000-07:00

I want to show you how looks like my studio the first day… I’m going to spend a lot of time in this place…

Day life

2008-10-02T05:06:00.001-07:00

This morning I was in the fine art shop buying papers and water colour pencils. It is strange, here everything is around art and everyone is artist, glariest or curators…Those pictures are just in front of the university.

Night life

2008-10-02T04:52:00.000-07:00

At night people want the same things… take a drink and bla bla bla bla …
This is my full of clubs neighbourhood…

What we have for dinner?

2008-10-02T04:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first opening exhibition. I met there artist (left to right) Ash Keating from Australia, at his left Sunny (my assistant) from Korea, Andre Hemer from New Zeeland and Luis Cantillo (the guy who is taken the picture) from Colombia. Andre was one of the artists who were in the exhibition and the gallery invites us to dinner in the gallery owner’s restaurant. It was the first time I dinner with out shoes.

Just arrive

2008-10-02T04:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
Yesterday I just arrive to Seoul, South Korea and I want to share with you what I found…
Firs of all I want to introduce you Sunny, my assistant. I am going to spend a lot of time with her, she is very young and passionate with art. She is wonderful.