Price
₩3,000,000
Art protects art
8 out of 10
artists are shut out by banks
354
loans extended to fellow artists
95%
repayment rate — trust comes full circle
~KRW 140M
interest saved vs. predatory rates
Until the next exhibition, the next performance. For artists, income gaps are an unavoidable reality. For fellow artists forced into predatory loans just to afford paint, canvas, and studio rent, proceeds from this artwork become the Seed Fund — extending a fair hand at fair rates.
Voices of fellow artists
“The memory of going hungry for three days, alone, so my children wouldn't know.”
— 50s, theater artist
“I've been putting off urgent dental treatment because I can't afford it. I should be seeing a doctor regularly, but enduring instead of going has become a habit.”
— 50s, actor
“I kept delaying ear treatment because I had no money, and the symptoms in both ears worsened.”
— 30s, musician
“I couldn't pay my hospitalized mother's bills, so we had to delay her discharge, and she had to give up tests and treatment she needed.”
— 50s, actor/broadcaster
“Because of money troubles I had nowhere to go — drifting between gosiwon rooms and rehearsal studios, and for a while sleeping rough.”
— 30s, musician
“Because of unpaid rent, my collective was forced to vacate our shared workspace and home. Neither bank loans nor artist loans could help.”
— 50s, actor
“Without money, life collapses — and creating art? Out of the question.”
— 50s, artist
“It's painful that solving this month's money problems has to come before the work itself. As an artist, I can only earn well when the work succeeds — yet I have to chase odd jobs every month instead. It feels like being trapped in a vicious cycle.”
— 40s, musician
“Debt collection calls disrupted my rehearsals and performances, and the psychological burden made every day painful and the next day frightening.”
— 40s, theater artist
“Many times the loan payments looming each month forced me to step away from performing and focus on part-time work.”
— 50s, actor
“Sleeping less than four hours a night, juggling part-time jobs and theater — but the more I performed, the more debt piled up. Eventually I decided to quit performing.”
— 30s, actor
“When things were hardest, I couldn't even attend close friends' weddings or funerals — and as a result, relationships were severed.”
— 50s, actor/broadcaster
“When I said I was a stage actor, the loan officer called me "unemployed."”
— 50s, actor
“The shame and severed friendships that came with borrowing from people I knew, the pressure of failing to pay it back, the helplessness.”
— 50s, cartoonist/visual artist
“Even with programs meant for low-income citizens, I feel shame when I can't produce enough documentation simply because I'm an artist.”
— 30s, film/broadcasting professional
68 artworks sold, each becoming a seed of solidarity
One artwork becomes the oxygen that keeps a fellow artist creating.
Sales proceeds go to the artist mutual-aid fund.
The Artificial NO. 1
Sin Geonwu
About the Artist
Shin Gunwoo (b. 1986) is an artist who reconstructs urban and architectural landscapes through visual art. After graduating from the Department of Media Art & Design at Induk University, he has held numerous solo exhibitions including 〈The Trite Is the New〉 (Dalcheon Art Studio, 2024), 〈Cropped City〉 (Gallery Onui, 2022), 〈Architectural Landscape〉 (YOONION ART SPACE, 2021), and 〈RETRO〉 (Coutances Art Center, France, 2019). He has been a resident artist at Daegu Art Factory (15th cohort), Dalcheon Art Studio (4th cohort), and Science Walden (UNIST). His works are held in the Gangwon Cultural Foundation, Hori Art Space, Coutances Municipal Museum of Art, Gallery Pont des Arts, and Gallery Iang.
About this work
〈The Artificial NO. 1〉 is a Painting work by Sin Geonwu. Made on Acrylic and oil on canvas, measuring 72x91cm. Available as an original Korean contemporary artwork at SAF Online.
Key Career Highlights
Shin Gunwoo b. 1986
B.F.A., Department of Media Art & Design, Induk University, 2016
Solo Exhibitions
2024 <The Trite Is the New>, Dalcheon Art Studio, Daegu, Korea
2022 <Cropped City>, Gallery Onui, Seoul, Korea
2022 <Shin Gunwoo's Walking Mind>, Mir Gallery, Daegu, Korea
2022 <DUAL: Artworks in the Age of Self-Replication>, BGM Gallery Lotte World Tower, Seoul, Korea
2021 <PRESENT>, Gallery Chosun, Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture Art Activity Support, Seoul, Korea
2021 <Architectural Landscape>, YOONION ART SPACE, Seoul, Korea
2019 <RETRO>, Coutances Art Center, Coutances, France
2018 <Walking Narratives>, Space 55, Seoul, Korea
2018 <Destroy the Dystopia>, Monthly, Seoul, Korea
2016 <Self-Funeral>, MAKSA (now Place Mak1), Seoul, Korea
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 <Ion and Reason>, Daegu Art Factory 15th Cohort Resident Artist Exhibition, Daegu Art Factory, Daegu, Korea
2025 <Modernity: Time Becoming Art>, Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong Main Store, Seoul, Korea
2025 <Dalseong Daegu Contemporary Art Festival 2025 - Chronicles of Waves>, Gangjeong-bo The ARC, Daegu, Korea
2025 <NOWHERE>, National Residency Joint Exchange Exhibition, Daegu Art Factory, Daegu, Korea
2024 <Dalseong Daegu Contemporary Art Festival 2024 - Still, Romance>, Gangjeong-bo The ARC, Daegu, Korea
2024 <Residency Collaboration Exhibition - Flexible Gap: Shadow of Gaze>, Daegu Art Factory, Suchang Youth Mansion, Daegu, Korea
2023 <ABOUT THERE>, MHK Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2022 <How We Remember the City>, Ulsan Art Support New Group Support, Art Ground HQ, Ulsan, Korea
2022 <No Whales in Jangsaengpo>, Arts Council Korea Support Project, 131 Small Museum of Art, Ulsan, Korea
2021 <Project B Side Metropolitan>, Goyang Youth Hope New Deal Project, Goyang Aram Museum of Art, Goyang, Korea
2021 <DMZ Art Samadhi: Remaker>, Art Hotel Remaker, Gangwon Cultural Foundation, Goseong, Gangwon-do, Korea
2020 <Open Studio - 2nd Cohort Resident Artists>, Suchang Youth Mansion, Daegu, Korea
2020 <Just Modern> <Gathering>, Connected Team Education Program Participating Artist, MMCA Seoul, Korea
2020 <Tautology>, Hori Factory, Seoul, Korea
2019 <ART SOUS LES ARBRES 1>, Coutances Art Center, Coutances, France
2018 <Energy of the Cosmic Clock>, Donuimun Museum, Seoul, Korea
2018 <Hybridity and Confusion>, R3028, Seoul, Korea
2017 <Taste Is the House of Being>, Curated Exhibition - Your and My Habitus, Alternative Space Noon, Suwon, Korea
2016 <Mayfly 8>, Direct From Studio Sale, Seoul, Korea
2015 <Mayfly 7>, Seogyo Experimental Art Center, Seoul, Korea
2015 <Aerial Exhibition>, Aerial Studio, Pangyo, Korea
2010 <Art Group Exhibition>, The Show Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2010 <Open Studio>, SERENDIPITY SPACE, Toronto, Canada
Residencies
2025 Daegu Art Factory 15th Cohort Resident Artist (2025.2.4-12.4), Daegu, Korea
2024 Dalcheon Art Studio 4th Cohort Resident Artist (2024.2.19-12.19), Daegu, Korea
2021 Science Walden Resident Artist (2021.9.7-9.23), UNIST, Ulsan, Korea
2020 Suchang Youth Mansion 2nd Cohort Resident Artist (2020.7.7-10.6), Daegu, Korea
2020 Coutances Art Center, 1st Cohort Resident Artist (2019.5.2-7.29), Coutances, France
Awards & Selections
2021 DMZ Art Samadhi: Remaker Participating Artist, Gangwon Cultural Foundation
2020 Art Activity Support (Visual Arts) Selected, Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture
Collections
Gangwon Cultural Foundation
Hori Art Space
Coutances Art Center
Coutances Municipal Museum of Art
Gallery Pont des Arts
Gallery Iang
Related materials
YouTube · Original Korean article
This article text is currently available in Korean. Open the source to read the original version.
Korean media · Original Korean article
This article text is currently available in Korean. Open the source to read the original version.
Korean media · Original Korean article
This article text is currently available in Korean. Open the source to read the original version.
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Two beginnings made by one piece
- For you —
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- For the artist —
- the next month of their practice
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- a new ₩3,000,000 path of low-interest support
354 artists have walked this path of recovery; 95% returned to open it for the next.