Experimental paint artist Shin Sung-hy's works unveiled at Gallery Hyundai
Shin's 10th exhibition at Gallery Hyundai runs through March 16
Pushing the boundary of painting is what painter Shin Sung-hy pursued before passing away at the age of 61 in 2009.
Gallery Hyundai has unveiled some of the artist's last works created before his death, which feature his distinctive techniques, such as tearing up thick cardboard. The exhibition 'Couturage, Nouage' marks the 10th exhibition of the artist's works at the gallery, celebrating more than 35 years working with the pioneering artist.
'The works the artist created just before his passing are bursting of his experimental spirit for painting,' said Kwon Young, a senior director at the gallery, on Tuesday. 'He strove to go beyond painting as a traditional art medium, yet, and this is what is unique about the artist, is that he never left the canvas as medium of painting.'
Shin's last series made of knotted canvas -- also called 'Nouage' in French by the artist -- integrates surface and volume by gathering strips of colored canvas and tying them to a frame or other support structure. He painted, cut, tore and tied the canvases by hand as though reconstructing space and time through his act.
Shin's art can be categorized into four distinct periods over a span of four decades – the hyperrealistic painting series 'Jute paintings,' the collaged paperwork series 'Collage,' the sewn-canvas series 'Couturage' and the knotted-canvas series 'Nouage.'
The gallery -- also host of the solo exhibition of the artist in 1988 -- last year presented his works at the historic Palazzo Caboto in Venice from April to July, coinciding with the 2024 Venice Biennale.
Shin, who moved to Paris in 1980, remained active there until his death in Seoul in 2009.
The exhibition runs through March 16.
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