People in Prayer

P21 is pleased to present People in Prayer a solo exhibition by Yang Jung Uk, on view from September 1 to October 10, 2026. This is his first solo show with P21 and his first in two years following his 2024 MMCA Korea Artist Prize, introducing two new series conceived for the occasion: “People in Prayer” and “The One Who Strove to Recall”.

The exhibition begins with the image of people devoting their hearts toward a cause. While we often believe a journey only gains meaning when a goal is reached, Yang focuses on the trajectory of time and emotion spent moving toward it, rather than a definitive outcome. Even without visible results, the desire once held seeps into us as warmth, leading this exhibition to look not at what was achieved, but at where our hearts once lingered.Yang Jung Uk (b.1982) received his BFA in Sculpture from Kyungwon University, and is based in Seoul. He has presented solo exhibitions at Ulsan Art Museum, Ulsan(2024); OCI Museum of Art, Seoul(2021); and Gallery Hyundai, Seoul(2019), among others. Yang has participated in group exhibitions held at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul(2024, 2022); Changwon Sculpture Biennale, Changwon(2022); Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon(2021); Ottawa Art Gallery, Canada(2020); Paradise Art Space, Incheon (2020); and Songzhuang Contemporary Art Museum, Beijing(2019). His works are held in major institutional collections including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art; Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art; Seoul Museum of Art; and OCI Museum of Art. Yang was named a recipient of the Today’s Young Artist Award as part of the 2025 Honors for Contributions to Arts and Culture, and was named the final recipient of the MMCA Korea Artist Prize 2024.