(Batman & Robin - 130x42x40cm, steel, 2010)

“I often receive comments that my works are like toy robots. I’d have to agree with them - they don’t have much difference. I don’t mind if they say they are toy robots. Everybody has different perspectives and is free to say how they think about my work.

“They’re saying that my works look like toys probably because they have the elements of ‘Kidult’. My technique of assemblage came from my childhood. I enjoyed putting together those plastic robot figures they sold in stationery stores, and I still do - I assemble plastic figure pieces for my hobby. I concentrate so much I don’t even notice the time when I work on finishing those plastic robot figures.” Geun-ho Goh (From this Article Interview)

Like so, Pop-Artist Geun-ho Goh (50) loves to create robotic assemblage sculptures and considers art his media for communicating his humor, enjoyment, and sympathy to the society.

(Vincent Van Gogh / 빈센트 반 고흐 - 36x25x72cm, steel, 2012)

Geun-Ho Goh’s approach to pop art is parodying things that are already familiar to the public. This enables to communicate his own creativity to the community. One of his most successful and his personal favorite series, ‘Hero Series’ was inspired by the characters and heroes in histories that society can well recognize, such as ‘Batman’ and ‘Michael Jackson’. Additions of his own style of art and feature of pop art makes the characters as his own way to communicate.

Geun-Ho Goh’s early works in the 1990’s were either molding, bronze casting, or cutting wood and stones to create his sculptures. However, due to worsening economic conditions, he was not able to afford the supplies, and searched for a new kind of art. He found his enjoyment of ‘Junk Art’, in which artists collect random reusable materials and assemble them. From then on he started to create the sculptures with robotic and humorous features - in a brand new style he creates today. Starting from his animal character creations in his personal exhibit “Wild Imagines” in 2006, his art gradually moved towards modern pop-art and made his way to fame with his ‘Hero Series’ and ‘Star Series’ in 2008.

 (Don Quixote and Sancho / 돈키호테와 산초 - 105x24x63cm, steel, 2009)

Geun-Ho Goh’s art can be approached viewed in ‘National Museum of Contemporary Art’, and in his own personal exhibition in ‘Insadong SM Duty-Free Shop’. In Hong-Kong, one of his large works can be seen in ‘Sculpture Park of Kowloon’.

The major media Geun-Ho Goh creates is sculpting. Instead of carving out shapes from plaster or stone chunks like what most people think of sculpting, his way is to assemble small steel pieces together to create a figure. Due to this unique technique, most of his pop-art assemblages resemble robotics and machinery. In fact, he purposely puts robotic features in his art because most of his inspirations are taken from his own childhood, when he admired imaginative heroes and robot characters.

(The Picnic - 100x23x55cm, Aluminium, 2009)

One common special aspect of all his displayed work is that humorous features are emphasized. This is unusual, considering the fact that art is usually respected for the artist’s creativity. Geun-Ho Goh says, “When life brings me down, it is important for to communicate my intentions even more humorously. I put humour in my art because it gives slight ‘twists’ to their meanings, and I enjoy those random, unexpected intentions.” He hopes his art inspires the society by detaching from reality for a moment and enjoy his imaginations.

* Source: Goh, Geun-ho. "Modern Pop-Artist: Geun-ho Goh." E-mail interview. 30 Sept. 2016.

* Image Source: Artist Geun-ho Goh (고근호 작가)
 

Grace Jiyoung Lim
Grade 11
Branksome Hall Asia