UPCOMING EVENT

Sangjaru: Korean Folk Gypsy Swing

Thursday, February 20 at 6pm
$20 (General); $15 (Students/Seniors/Children ages 6–12); FREE for children ages 5 and under

Join us for an unforgettable Lunar New Year celebration featuring Sangjaru, the dynamic Korean folk fusion band that masterfully blends traditional Korean music with the vibrant rhythms of gypsy swing, funk, rock, and improvisation. The band’s name, “Sangjaru,” combines the Korean words “sangja” (box) and “jaru” (sack), referencing their mission to infuse new creativity into the rich traditions of Korean music. The winner of the prestigious Sori Frontier music competition in 2019, Sangjaru is recognized for its exceptional talent and unique approach. Experience the innovative and exhilarating cultural expressions of Cho Sungyoon on guitar, Kwon Hyochang on janggu (hourglass drum) and kkwaenggwari (small gong), and Nam Seonghun on ajaeng (bowed zither). Don’t miss this captivating Lunar New Year event! The performance is presented with the support of the Center for Korean Studies at SBU.

To purchase tickets, click here.

 

UPCOMING ASIA WEEK NEW YORK 2025 EXHIBITION

Cycles of Clay: The Ceramic Narratives of Sunkoo Yuh

March 7 – May 24, 2025
Opening reception: Friday, March 7, 5-7 pm
Charles B. Wang Center Skylight Gallery

Cycles of Clay explores the profound creativity of Sunkoo Yuh, an artist who navigates the intersections of cultural heritage and contemporary expression. Yuh’s ceramic sculptures combine bold colors, evocative imagery, and intricate figures layered vertically to evoke histories and community connection. Themes of Buddhist cycles, Confucian ideals, and sociopolitical commentary permeate his works, which includes monumental pieces like Long Beach Summer and Athens Winter. Through experimental glazing and unpredictable firing techniques, Yuh captures the tension between order and chaos to create visually compelling sculptures that explore life’s beauty, fragility, and complexity.

This exhibition is curated by Jinyoung A. Jin, the director of Asian art and culture at the Charles B. Wang Center.

The Wang Center will host the opening reception for this exhibition with Club Red, an informal gathering for all faculty and staff from every department across Stony Brook University, including both East and West Campuses. Join us for engaging conversations and getting to know each other better over refreshments, good company, and art!

To learn more, click here. 

 

RELATED EVENT

Lecture: Glazed Realities: A Journey in Clay by Sunkoo Yuh

Friday, March 7, 2025, 4pm
Theatre

 

LONG TERM INSTALLATIONS

Organic Serenity: Reflections of Life in Sui Park’s Sculptures

Charles B. Wang Center East Hall

Sui Park’s artistic vision revolves around the exploration of the seemingly static yet actually dynamic characteristics that shape our experiences. With the remarkable ability to transform industrial materials into enthralling organic visualizations, Park weaves and connects traces of subtle changes to give rise to breathtaking biomorphic shapes that mirror the transitions and transformations found in nature. The exhibition becomes a conduit for reflection to engage with the delicate balance between our experiences and the natural world.

You will encounter a collection of artworks that captures the essence of our evolving lives. Each piece serves as a vessel, encapsulating the subtle changes in our emotions, sentiments, memories, and expectations. Park’s organic forms invite contemplation and draw us closer to moments that we may overlook but are truly inspiring.

Again by Seongmin Ahn

Charles B. Wang Center Main Lobby

Again is a typographical mural by Brooklyn-based artist Seongmin Ahn, expressing her manifesto of overcoming the global COVID-19 pandemic. The mural is a cross-cultural exchange and community bonds, and it incorporates both Eastern and Western styles, motifs, ornaments, and symbols. The ornamented images celebrates “the beginning of a prosperous future again” in various languages, including Korean, English, Spanish, Chinese, and Hindi.

The mural has been installed in various communities in New York City, including the neighborhood of Corona, Queens, an area that was hit hard by COVID-19.

The Studio: Through a Surrealistic Lens

Charles B. Wang Center Theatre Gallery

White, flat, dreamlike spaces, serving as thresholds between the inner, subjective self and the external, physical world, were a subject that fascinated the South Korea-based project group GREEM (a name that literally translates to “picture” in Korean). GREEM’s goal is to elicit feelings of strangeness, difference, curiosity, and fun in its audiences. Following a long and rich Surrealist tradition, GREEM draws inspiration from dreamlike narratives, absurd juxtapositions, and comic books for new graphic languages.

A huge, flattened, and cartoon-like artist’s studio in white and black is open, inviting viewers to live out their surrealistic fantasies. The realistic detailing of the artist’s studio also adds touches of humor, utility, and everyday-ness. As soon as the viewer enters the studio (which is carefully modeled and gives the illusion of a three-dimensional form), surrealistic dreams are triggered; the white, flat scene and the viewer’s point of view are disrupted.

The current exhibition is designed to be reproduced and seen on social media as much as it is meant to be enjoyed in its actual location. This imaginative exhibition crosses perspective, culture, and media.

Curated by Jinyoung Jin, Director of Cultural Programs at the Charles B. Wang Center, this exhibition is designed and presented by Project Group GREEM, based in Seoul, South Korea.

Simplicity Over Complexity

Charles B. Wang Center Outdoor Garden

Brooklyn-based Korean American artist Jongil Ma revives the Charles B. Wang Center’s outdoor garden with architecturally woven sculptures, using varying lengths and types of thin wooden strips, both in their raw state and dyed in color. Three large, site-specific installations balance the positive with the negative, tranquility with tension, and stillness with movement. The installations interact with the Wang Center’s architecture and spatial dynamics, transforming the garden through a multiplicity of viewing possibilities.

Zen Rock Garden

Charles B. Wang Center Outdoor Garden

Located on the first floor, in between the meeting rooms 101 and 102 at the Charles B. Wang Center, this Japanese rock garden (枯山水 karesansui) was created by Gerard Senese and his wife Hiroko Uraga-Senese as a tribute to the appreciation of Japanese culture. Japanese gardens are rich with symbolism, and they are usually created with certain meanings and wishes in mind. The Wang Center’s new Zen garden features symbols of Buddhist paradises with a tortoise islet (kame-jima) and a crane islet (tsuru-jima). Made with rocks, the tortoise symbolizes prosperity and the crane symbolizes health and good luck.

To view all the exhibitions, click here.