Whitestone Gallery is pleased to present three is a magic number 23, the Japanese artist collective three's first solo exhibition in Korea. Featuring earlier and new works, the exhibition explores the relationships between the individual and the collective, image and material, through familiar objects from popular culture.

three uses mass-produced figurines from Japanese anime, manga, and popular culture as its primary material. Through cutting, melting, and rearranging, characters with distinctive faces, costumes, and narratives are brought together to form new works. Individual identities dissolve into color, while recognizable fragments remain visible, moving between figuration and abstraction. This process echoes the convergence of individual thoughts and images on the internet, reflecting both the power of collective formations and the fragility of the bonds that hold them together.

three, "77V type 18.85kg TRANS" 2026, Aluminum, PVC, figure, wood, 258.0 × 72.0 × 80.0cm

In the circular work 3234g, three explores a new texture by gradually varying the extent to which the figurines are melted across the surface. Inspired by the sensation of objects becoming embedded in or fitting into one another in virtual space, these shifting cross-sections create a sense of depth and immersion.

three, "6344g" 2026, PVC, figure, wood, 52.0 × 52.0 × 120.0 cm

The "V" series takes its dimensions from the screens of actual televisions, iPhones, and other familiar devices. Regarding the screen as a boundary between images and physical objects, three uses figurines to give this boundary material form. Extending this approach, the new "TRANS" works introduce multiple cuts across the surface, shifting each section by an equal amount and creating variations in depth between the front and back. The idea of crossing spaces and boundaries, and moving between states, connects "TRANS" to three's broader practice, in which characters become figurines and figurines are transformed into new artworks. By bringing different characters together into a single form while retaining traces of their individual identities, the exhibition offers another perspective on the relationship between the individual and the collective.