Samsung pushes art appreciation in HK with Balloon Bear artist and bespoke creations

Samsung Electronics HK and SHOUT Art Hub & Gallery, a contemporary pop art gallery in Hong Kong, have partnered up with Jibin Im, a pop artist in Korea, to present a series of Hong Kong edition artwork for all art enthusiasts.

As part of the campaign, a 2.5-meter giant Balloon Bear Art installation made its first stop in Harbour City, which instantly became a popular selfie spot. The Balloon Bear is now showcased at SHOUT Gallery, IFC mall, Central, and will be doing a tour in different SHOUT Galleries in Hong Kong until 1 September 2022.

The artwork portrayed are inspired by Samsung The Frame, known for its slim profile and customisable design, that resemble a painting. Since its launch, the Frame’s Art Store has curated a diverse catalogue of art from renowned galleries and artists around the world, which has deepened art and aesthetic exchanges.

The Korean pop artist Im will also create a series of limited-edition art collections titled “Frame Your Love,” in which he recreated the renowned hugging bear series “You are not alone” in both digital and physical formats for the first time. He also introduced his famous “Everywhere” project in Hong Kong – a giant Balloon bear art installation that has already captivated people by setting foot across the world. This collaboration marks Im’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, featuring a series of artworks that transcend the boundaries between art, technology and reality.

The Seoul-based artist is renowned for his "Everywhere" project, in which he creates impromptu activations by placing a Balloon Bear in different places all over the world. He has collaborated with several international brands on this project, such as GUCCI, Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz. His work has been showcased in over 40 cities around the globe, including some well-known landmarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Thailand and Taiwan.

Im was invited by Samsung X SHOUT Gallery recently to create a giant Balloon Bear art installation for Hong Kong, bringing back his iconic colour combination of black and white bear balloon with the word “CHILL” on its face. 

“Frame Your Love” is Im’s first art project that bridges physical and digital experience. Through this collaboration with Samsung X SHOUT Gallery, Im introduced five new colors to his famous hugging bear series titled “You are not alone,” exclusively for Hong Kong. Equipped with the latest Matte Display technology, which reduces glare and reflection on the screen to deliver excellent color performance, this digital canvas has brought the hugging bears to the digital world, capturing all the finest details.

“Although the pandemic has limited our way to enjoy art, innovative technology has inspired and empowered me to push the boundaries of artistic expression – to digitalise my art and make them accessible to more people,” said Im. “Earlier this year, I was featured in a video in collaboration with Samsung, and I was in awe of how their latest technology is able to deliver the texture and colors so vividly and authentically on screens. Hence, I feel honored to collaborate with Samsung again, to create the ‘Frame Your Love’ series that pays more focus on color expressions, transforming ‘You are not alone’ series into digital artworks that displayed on Samsung The Frame, highlighting the unique magic of the artworks with its artistic, slim picture frame design and state-of-art color performance that deftly melds digital with physical," said Jibin Im.

Samsung is working closely with SHOUT Gallery to also create a series of activities for art enthusiasts, and brings together five artists. Among them, international media artist Hung Keung and local animation artist Kongkee showcase their latest NFT artworks using Samsung The Frame. Samsung will soon partner with SHOUT Gallery to organise a large-scale Art Tech exhibition, setting off a new wave of art appreciation in Hong Kong.

“We are honored to partner with SHOUT Gallery to unlock more forms of art, thanks to the latest QLED technology. Earlier this year, we collaborated with Im to showcase an Art Delivery project through Neo QLED TVs, and it is our pleasure to work with him again this time on the 'Frame your love' project – to design a series of digital and physical collectibles for Samsung’s aesthetic lifestyle tv – The Frame. To make art tech more accessible to the public, we will soon partner with SHOUT Gallery on an upcoming large-scale local art showcase, hoping to further enhance the art viewing experience,” said Ellen Fu, vice president, CE & enterprise business, Samsung Electronics.

“We are glad to join hands with Samsung to promote Art Tech in the community. Samsung The Frame’s refined artistic design with cutting-edge QLED technology definitely will add a unique touch to the art collection,” said Christopher Tang, founder of SHOUT Art Hub & Gallery.

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