Last year Korean artist Yoon Sang Chun wowed the Twin Cities with his clever paintings on car hoods. This year he returns with a 2002 Hyundai Accent treated as a canvas for his meditations on the intersection of traditional Korean culture and contemporary commercial values. That's a fancy way of saying that he spent the past month turning out a snazzy new art car. Images of shimmering pine forests gleam on the mirror shiny skin of the sporty vehicle.
Even standing still in the gallery, the car appears to be skimming along mountain roads, its silvery surface reflecting the skies and trees long treasured in Korean culture. This is imagery to which Minnesotans can relate, living as they do in a state whose early fortunes often were built on logging the white pines of the primordial Big Woods that once covered vast tracks of the north. Sang Chun's show includes two 30 ft. long murals of forests laced with images of Korea's crowded urban landscapes. (Through Sept. 9, free. Gallery 13, 811 LaSalle Av., Mpls. 651-592-5503 or www.gallery13.com)
