SAD예술가직업훈련학교, 빵학과: Silas Fong
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Press Release Text
Gallery Chosun will host SAD School of Artists Development, Department of Bread, a solo exhibition by Silas Fong, from November 6 to November 29, 2024. As both an artist and educator, Fong examines the multi-layered societal expectations and institutional demands placed on artists. SAD School of Artists Development transforms these insights into a satirical reflection on how credentials and validation often overshadow genuine learning, while questioning the roles imposed upon artists by society and the art world alike.
The SAD project began in 2019 with SAD Info Days at Seoul Art Space Geumcheon, an exhibition that dissected the socially constructed expectations of artists and how institutions set, control, and manipulate what society values in art. Fong’s intention was to question how “being an artist” is defined by external standards rather than intrinsic creativity. This was followed by a second SAD series exhibition at Cheongju Residency in 2020, titled SAD School of Artist Development. Here, workshops such as “How to Be a Successful Artist” and “What an Artist Should Be” included exercises on art rental service promotion, offering a cynical take on how professional skills are sometimes elevated over authentic expression. Fong created these series as a reflection on the realities he experiences as an educator, where institutional demands and marketable skills often take priority over creative exploration.
In 2021, SAD Kitchen emerged, inspired by “comfort food” as a source of empathy and resilience. This series explored how artists working far from home find comfort in familiar foods, as well as the act of preparing and sharing meals, as a way to connect and heal. In this exhibition, Fong uses bread as a medium to convey warmth and comfort, inviting viewers to reflect on how such simple acts can challenge society’s relentless expectations. SAD Kitchen asks visitors to consider bread as a symbol of basic sustenance, contrasting the supportive, shared experience of food with society’s focus on constant productivity and success.
In SAD School of Artists Development, Department of Bread, bread-making activities become a means to critique educational and validation systems. Here, success is redefined through skill-building exercises that mimic the arbitrary demands of formal education. In Flourglass, participants attempt to master an unnecessary skill, reflecting how education systems often stress arbitrary achievements that bear little relevance to real life. In Shape and Score Clinic, participants practice precise techniques that prioritize external standards over individual potential, mirroring the limitations institutions place on creativity. This playful critique exposes how conformity and mastery of arbitrary tasks often suppress genuine curiosity and exploration.
Reflecting Fong’s own experiences as both artist and educator, SAD School of Artists Development critiques the relentless pursuit of credentials in a society where education is a direct path to social standing. Through humor and satire, Fong addresses a system that places higher value on certifications and test scores than on creativity, genuine learning, and contextual understanding, inviting viewers to question the role of art institutions in shaping the lives of artists. Alongside the workshops, Stretch—an exaggerated elaboration of ordinary bread-making gestures—creates a sense of extravagance that mirrors the grandiosity institutions use to assert their authority in public spaces.
In SAD School of Artists Development, Department of Bread encourages viewers to recognize the significance of enduring failures against the external standards of success and realize that sometimes simply showing up can be enough to “pass the exam.” While visitors might leave with flour on their hands or dough in their bags, they will also leave with a sense of reflection on the value of genuine curiosity and a desire for knowledge—qualities often overshadowed by society’s focus on achievement.
On November 16 at 2:00 p.m., a “Meet the Artist” event with Silas Fong will be held.
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past SAD exhibition
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SAD Info Days
Seoul Art Space Geumcheon, 2019서울금천예술공장 -
SAD School of Artists Development
Cheongju Art Studio, 2020SAD 예술가직업훈련학교, 청주미술창작스튜디오, 2020 -
SAD School of Artists Development
Cheongju Art Studio, 2020SAD 예술가직업훈련학교, 청주미술창작스튜디오, 2020 -
SAD School of Artists Development
Cheongju Art Studio, 2020SAD 예술가직업훈련학교, 청주미술창작스튜디오, 2020 -
SAD Info Days 2021
Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre -
SAD Kitchen
청주시립미술관청주시립미술관 Artists of Tomorrow - To Each Their Own, Cheongju Museum of Art, 2022 -
SAD Kitchen: Oi! Guide
A Comfort Food Journey, Oi!, Hong Kong, 2023
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Work
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Bienenstich | 2021
UHD Video, Sound, Colour, 10'46 -
Social Smoker's Box
2021 -
아트 홈쇼핑개발 및 적용
Development and Application of Art Home Shopping아트 홈쇼핑개발 및 적용_2023_실글채널 영상_5'00'' -
Small Talk 2018
Sample Conversations for Your Perfect Date and Successful Meeting아티스트 북 Artist’s book -
Artist’s zine 2019
어휘 - 여러분의 미대 교수님을 이해하고, 인생을 쉽게 만드세요
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