Merck has introduced an impressive variety of Korean artwork to the world using calendars since 2009. This marks Merck’s eighth year of the calendar program in Korea.
In October last year Merck announced a new brand identity that signifies its transformation into a true science and technology company with a long history of research and its commitment to a people-oriented future. The humanism that started from science and technology led to the creation of the new brand identity with shapes, textures and colours inspired by the world of science and nature that was carefully observed and with innovative and unique designs based on humanism, Merck highlights its difference from others, not just to stand out. The new logo also means Merck is no longer a traditional pharmaceutical and chemical company, but it is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials.
Choi Seungyoon, the Korean artist selected for Merck’s 2017 calendar, describes the basic principle of the world as ‘the rule of opposition.’ His philosophy is based on meaningful balancing between thesis and antithesis in almost everything like freedom and regulation, fire and water, man and woman, tradition and innovation, artery and vein, breathing in and breathing out, or the heart’s contraction and relaxation for blood supply. This motif led to paradoxical titles of his work: Completion of Beginning, Beginning of Suspension, Rule of Freedom and Ascending Fall.
Choi Seungyoon basically uses a blue colour scheme, but this colour is ambivalent because it is the same blue colour as the hottest star in the universe or the hottest part of a flame and it is the most fundamental colour like water and the sky. It is also able to describe a spectrum from white to black clearly. He also often uses yellow colours along with blue colours. It signifies that the two colours which are complementary to each other look differently depending on the angle, but they are the same in essence. The artist sometimes completes the canvas using various colours, and his use of a windshield wiper, glass clearer, spatula and plastics instead of a drawing brush makes spectators feel indefinite dynamics and energy, and this physical expression is in line with Merck’s vibrant brand and image as a science and technology company seeking innovations based on tradition.
“Merck’s new logo is simple and goes well with other colours and this dynamism makes people imagine immeasurable happiness in life that can be realized by science and technology,” said Michael Grund, managing director of Merck Korea. “Choi’s art has colours and unique expression that make people feel energy and this is why we selected him for our 2017 calendar project.”
Choi Seungyoon’s art is exhibited at Gallery Sagye under the title of “Painting & Drawing” that began on Oct. 20. He has multiple exhibitions every year.
Merck Korea’s calendar project kicked off in 2009 and selects one Korean artist each year and prints the artists’ major artwork on the calendar that is distributed to 66 countries where Merck operates. It provides an opportunity to appreciate Korean fine arts for people around the world through a calendar that everybody looks at every day. When Merck’s calendar is introduced in the media, a growing number of inquiries or requests will follow. In particular, this program is quite significant as Merck Korea is Merck’s only overseas unit that introduces local artists globally. The 2017 calendar that carries Choi’s artwork will be distributed around the world through Merck’s global network.
