Contributed by Kenneth Greiner / Jihoon Cho, a South Korean-born artist-in-residence at WIP Space in Wandsworth, London, recently unveiled his latest spatial poem “Open Canopy” in the studio building’s gallery. It is above all an exhilarating environment. The four constituent works fall somewhere between Minimalist sculpture and architectural artifice, suggesting Cho’s preoccupation with his own rootlessness as an artist experiencing the unstable liminality of the immigration process.
The Crate and its accompanying lid was the show’s central object. Its enclosing plywood box looked similar to the shipping containers one might find in the storage room of an international art fair, but its irregular shape, like the side of an old barn or a house, was arresting. Though at first it seemed to be a found object, its nuanced labels, metal fastenings, and pink weight-insulating feet indicated that it must be custom-made. The overhead beams appeared to fit directly inside it. Was it somehow a self-portrait?
cardboard, pallet cushion, 184 x 75.6 x 12.2 inches
Like the impression of an object cast in a plaster mold, the interior of the box echoed the antique supports and the shadow they might leave on the inhabitants below. On the wall, Mo or Do injected further instability at the flick of a switch. The overhead light inside the customized meter box oscillated back and forth, illuminating the word “HOME” and its alternative – not “AWAY,” as might be expected, but just faint traces of the original word.
In the center of the piece, a hand-sized plastic panel, modified with resin, featured a pair of white wings joined together to obscure our view of what was behind them. According to the press release, this posture refers to the hunting technique a black heron uses to lure unassuming fish into its clutches. This detail tilted Cho’s work in a slightly darker direction, suggesting a kind of predation and bringing to mind Charlotte Posenenske’s “Square Tube” series. Mona Hatoum’s use of wire and caging to evoke her experience as a Palestinian having fled war-torn Beirut for London seems pertinent here too. While Cho’s plight is scarcely so urgent, “Open Canopy” was refreshing in its subtlety.
plywood, junction box, epoxy resin, and paint on switch cover,
Main: 23.6 × 16.9 × 2.5 inches
Junction Box: 5.7 × 3.3 × 1.4 inches
Switch: 3.3 × 3.3 × 1.2 inches
Photo: Rodrigues Goncalves
3.5 x 2.1 inches. Photo: Rodrigues Goncalves.
Jihoon Cho, “Open Canopy,” WIP Space, Wentworth House, Dormay Street, London, SW18 1EY, United Kingdom. Ended July 2, 2026.
About the author: Kenneth Greiner is an American artist based in London. He holds an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art and has exhibited work at Purist Gallery, Roha Gallery, and The Factory (LIC), among other venues. His forthcoming group exhibition, “Beneath the Rift,” at Hypha Studios, opens Thursday, July 16th and runs through August 22nd, 2026.
