Oven

CONTACT

mechu@tenthaus.no
contactstudio150@gmail.com

OVEN is a transnational network for artistic exchange.

Rooted in collaboration, OVEN brings together collectives across Southeast Asia and the Nordics to foster shared learning, co-thinking, and long-term engagement. We view art and design not as outcomes but as tools for observation, friction, and transformation.

It takes shape through art projects, exhibitions, research, residencies, workshops, publications, gatherings, and moments of exchange, adapting to the context around it. We welcome those with a shared curiosity to think collectively, hold space for difference, and explore new ways of moving forward.

The OVEN : URGENCY Project
Seoul—South Korea

2024

The OVEN : URGENCY Project was the first collaborative exhibition by the OVEN network. Initiated by Tenthaus, Studio150, Gudskul, and 413Space, the project unfolded through exhibitions, workshops, and residencies in Seoul and Singapore.

The project explored urgency as both a global and local condition. Curator Yunik Kim framed it as a reflection on the fragmentation of subjectivity and diversity in contemporary life. Rather than presenting urgency as crisis alone, the project traced it through materials, objects, and grounded relationships. It sought moments of solidarity across cities, species, and soil.

Each collective responded to the theme from their own context. The project asked how urgency could be held, shared, and questioned through artistic processes. Through this collaboration, OVEN explored ways of working together across distance by listening, adjusting, and building over time.

Radiant Blessing
Seoul—South Korea

2024

Radiant Blessing responded to the theme of urgency through the lens of ‘Mutelu,’ a term for Thai superstitious practices. The exhibition reflected on how spiritual belief becomes a way to navigate uncertainty, particularly through objects believed to offer protection, luck, or control.

Studio150 reimagined spiritual symbols in a new setting to explore how everyday rituals, materials, and beliefs connect to the pressures of modern life.

Artist : Studio150 (Bangkok)
Dates : 14–31 May 2024
Location : 413BETA, Seoul
Part of : The OVEN : URGENCY Project
Curated by : Yunik Kim with Jieon Lee and Mechu Rapela

Daddy’s Dinner
Seoul—South Korea / Oslo—Norway

2024

Daddy’s Dinner brought together works by Jinbin Chen, Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo, and Bobby Yu Shuk Pui to explore migration, queerness, and family structures within East Asian patriarchal cultures. Using the dinner table as a metaphor, the project reflected on how care, conflict, and power play out in domestic settings.

Presented as part of The OVEN : URGENCY Project, the exhibition took place in two locations: at Tenthaus in Oslo and as a mirrored presentation at 413BETA in Seoul. Through film, painting, sculpture, installation, and arranged objects, the artists transformed the gallery into a space of reflection on identity, belonging, and inherited roles.

Artists : Jinbin Chen, Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo, Bobby Yu Shuk Pui
Dates : 30 May – 23 June 2024
Location : Tenthaus, Oslo
Part of : The OVEN : URGENCY Project
Curated by : Tenthaus

Supported by : Oslo Kommune, Norske Billedkunstnere, Kulturdirektoratet,
and the National Culture and Arts Foundation (Taiwan)

Three-Nons
Seoul—South Korea

2024

Three-Nons was the third exhibition in The OVEN: URGENCY Project, presented by Gudskul and curated by Gesyada Siregar. The exhibition featured works by Anita Bonit, JJ Adibrata, MG Pringgotono, and Rifandi Nugroho, addressing topics such as economic precarity, political aftermath, AI and learning, and the meaning of physical presence today.

The title refers to “non-preconception, non-academic technique, and non-academic aesthetic,” a principle of the late Indonesian artist Nashar. As a curatorial framework, Three-Nons embraced an open and urgent mode of making, inviting art to respond directly to the present without bias or hierarchy.

Artists : Anita Bonit, JJ Adibrata, MG Pringgotono, Rifandi Nugroho
Dates : 20 July–4 August 2024
Location : 413BETA, Seoul
Part of : The OVEN : URGENCY Project
Curated by : Gesyada Siregar

Supported by : Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia; Globus Opstart; Nordic Culture Fund; Embassy of Norway in Seoul

With thanks to: Gudskul, Grafis Huru Hara, Serrum, ruangrupa, Gud RnD, Stuffo Labs, Kemdikbudristek RI, Ko Gyeol, Kim Jung Won, Kwak So Jin, Lee Sungeun, Moonsuk Lee, Leni Selawati, Adi Dhigelz, Iqro Maulana Yudistira

OVEN NETWORK

Studio150
Bangkok—Thailand

Studio150 works across observation, research, curation, and storytelling. Their practice uses graphic design to translate contemporary conditions into visual forms, publications, exhibitions, new media, and public programs. The studio engages in both commissioned and independent projects, often shaped through interdisciplinary collaboration. Each work is grounded in logic, concept, and aesthetics. Studio150 is also the co-founder of the Bangkok Art Book Fair, a platform that supports independent publishing and creative exchange in the region.

Tenthaus
Oslo—Norway

Tenthaus is a curatorial collective with a socially engaged, process-based practice. Starting as an artists-in-schools project in 2009, Tenthaus has grown into a network that includes an exhibition space, mobile studio, and a range of public programs. The collective explores collectivity, participation, and inclusion through workshops, research, and discursive events.

Gudskul
Jakarta—Indonesia

Gudskul is an educational platform for collective and contemporary art, founded by the collectives ruangrupa, Serrum, and Grafis Huru Hara. Since 2018, Gudskul has supported co-learning, knowledge-sharing, and collective-based art practices. The platform focuses on building ecosystems that reflect Indonesian values of collaboration, community, and critical thinking.

413BETA
Seoul—South Korea

Located in Seoul’s Mullae industrial district, 413BETA is an artist-run space that supports experimental and independent practices. Formerly known as 413, the space was relaunched as 413BETA to reflect its ongoing evolution. It provides a space for risk-taking, dialogue, and hybrid practices rooted in the specific textures of the city. The team also collaborates widely through exhibitions, talks, and residencies.

PROJECTS

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