BB&M gallery in Seoul presents "When Space Becomes Painting," a solo exhibition of leading Korean architect Byoung Cho, organized in partnership with Jiyoon Lee of SUUM Project. The show traces Cho's 30-year engagement with space across painting, installation, maquettes, and drawing, exploring how his architectural thinking translates onto canvas. Central to the exhibition is Cho's concept of "mahk," inspired by Korean traditional ceramic maksabal, embracing spontaneity and imperfection as a guiding philosophy. The exhibition shifts from viewing artworks to experiencing them, with paintings that function as performative inquiries into existence rather than static images.
This exhibition matters because it challenges conventional boundaries between architecture and visual art, presenting Cho's painting not as a separate practice but as an extension of his architectural thinking. By framing painting as a "living event" and emphasizing process over finished result, the show contributes to ongoing discourse about interdisciplinary artistic practice. The reference to Harald Szeemann's landmark 1969 exhibition "When Attitudes Become Form" situates Cho's work within a broader art-historical lineage, while his engagement with Korean Dansaekhwa painting traditions connects contemporary practice to local artistic heritage.