Visible Vibrations; The Korean Art Palette Continues
- Ahmad Shariff
- Jul 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 5
Step into a realm where sound becomes form and rhythm etches itself onto metal and canvas. Visible Vibrations; *The Korean Art Palette ContinuesSasse MuseumVisible Sound* series and contributions from ten fellow Korean creators.
This remarkable showcase was born of a two-year partnership between Ahmad Shariff of Ahmad Shariff Art Gallery and Eunha Chung CEO of Art in Dongsan, a cross-cultural collaboration rooted in mutual passion for artistic innovation and global connection. Together, the institutions have cultivated a vibrant platform for Korean artists to share their voices and visions, both locally and internationally.
The upcoming exhibition spotlights the lauded Korean artist and musician Sori Choi alongside prominent Korean collaborators, presenting a unique curatorial challenge and opportunity. This exhibition follows the successful "Korean Art Palette" showcase and continues the celebration of Korean creativity, diversity, and interdisciplinary exploration.
The show stands out by integrating Sori Choi’s celebrated "Visible Sound" collection, an oeuvre that bridges the realms of music and visual art, reflecting Choi’s background as an experimental percussionist and artist.
From Stage to Studio: Sori Choi’s Musical Odyssey
Sori Choi began his career as a classically trained percussionist. He mastered traditional Korean rhythms under the tutelage of national artists. By his twenties, he was performing solo percussion recitals across more than 200 cities worldwide. This included a landmark appearance at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. He deepened his practice as a member of the rock ensemble Baekdoosan. There, he explored the visceral intersection of metal and sound before embracing the solitude of solo performance.
Translating Sound into Sight
In 2019, Choi embarked on a radical experiment. He aimed to capture the energy of each percussion strike as a visual residue. He collaborates with metalworkers to craft canvases that record vibrations. These include hammer strikes, cymbal shimmers, and drum reverberations, all transformed into sculptural reliefs. His Visible Sound artworks use layered metal dust, controlled oxidation, and digital projection. These techniques reveal the hidden patterns of frequency and resonance.
Highlights of the Visible Sound Collection
Meditation in Chaos (2019): A circular steel panel etched by 4,096 individual drum strikes.
Four Seasons (2021): Four modular screens that shift color and texture in response to an accompanying soundscape.
Resonance Chamber (2025 debut): An interactive installation where visitors trigger percussion samples beneath transparent acrylic panels.
Honoring the Korean Art Palette
The Korean Art Palette first came alive at the Sasse Museum in March. It united twenty-four voices in a dialogue of heritage and innovation. On July 5th, Ahmad Shariff Art Gallery carried that momentum forward, layering new works for a summer of cultural exchange. Visible Vibrations picks up the baton—amplifying Choi’s role as both composer and maker. It also spotlights emerging talents who riff on themes of memory, material, and migration.
Bridging Borders Through Resonance
Visible Vibrations; The Korean Art Palette Continues invites you to experience art as a living conversation. Each knock, scrape, and hum leaves a tangible mark. Sori Choi’s journey from global percussion stages to immersive visual environments embodies the power of sound to shape our understanding of place and self. Join us before the exhibit closes at the end of August. Witness how visible vibrations can resonate far beyond the gallery walls.
Sori Choi's Artist Statement
“Hear sound”
See sound.
Sound can be seen by hearing it.
By seeing sound, it could be seen.
Originally, attempts to hear sound is right.
Offspring from the same mother.
There is nothing new.
Needs only something new for interpretation.
Philosophy, ideology, and Tao - I am not familiar with these.
My artwork is done through numerous repeated works.
This includes beating on breast, tearing down, grinding, unfolding again, and painting just like my life.
As my life did, my artworks recover their shapes under numerous repeated variations.
Hands gripping stick firmly for several hours hasn’t moved even an inch.
As if they swing a sword against a stranger.
What makes me dreadful? What can you tell?
Just the hands gripping stick and copper plate discharge their assertions.
A more 10 cm of distance between them with coarse silence.
Now I can’t support any side of them.
Existence of me between them is a mere object that is desperately floundering, trying to survive by myself among coarse silence.
Today, I also perfectly knelt in front of them.
Like this, I just spent a day even without a single work and a single beating but just reading someone’s mind.
Artists
강동윤 Dongyoon Kang, 강민수 Minsoo Kang, 김용주 Zenakim,
김재규 Jaegyu Kim, 김준범 Junbeom Kim, 남미영 Meeyoung Nam,
또도아 Ttodoa, 문유선 Yousun Moon, 서은진 Jinny Suh,
양시영 Siyeong Yang, 허준 Jun Hur, 양정수 Jungsoo Yang,
오영주 Rosa Oh, 유부강 Bukang Yu Kim, 이갑임 Kapim Lee,
이명숙 Myungsook Lee, 이양미 Yangmi Lee, 이태현 Taehyun Lee,
최소리 Sori Choi, 전미선 Miseon Jeon, 정은하 Eunha Chung,
정정묵 Jungmook Jung, 최석현 Evan Artist Boy,
최영관 Steel Che(Youngkwan Choi), 홍성덕 Sungduck Hong
Closing Reflection: A Resonant Finale
Visible Vibrations does more than extend the Korean Art Palette—it amplifies it. Through the textured rhythms of Sori Choi’s journey from global percussionist to synesthetic visual artist, and the collaborative pulse of Korea’s rising talents, this exhibition invites us to hear with our eyes and see with our ears. It’s a rare convergence of disciplines and cultures, where sound becomes sculpture and memory finds form.
As the summer exhibition draws to a close at Ahmad Shariff Art Gallery, its vibrations linger. They remind us that art, at its most profound, transcends distance, medium, and time. This is not merely an ending, but a continuation of a dialogue echoing far beyond the gallery walls. Let the resonance carry forward.
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