Art evolves through accumulation of time, two artists show
Artists persevere to express what they hold inside or deliver messages through art — and galleries nurturing long-running relationships with artists are crucial in showing how that art evolves through time.
Kukje Gallery in Seoul presents two exhibitions, focusing on contemporary artists Ha Chong-hyun and Choi Jae-eun, showing how they have continuously evolved in their artistic practices into their late years.
Ha's solo exhibition is his fourth presentation at the gallery and the first in three years. The 89-year-old artist's new works from the 'Conjunction' series, which gives variations to his signature 'baeapbeop,' are at the center of the exhibition. "Baeapbeop" literally means 'back-pressure technique."
In his latest works from the 'Conjunction' series — which he started in the 1970s — Ha highlights gradations mixed between brushstrokes at the back of the canvas and bright colors added to the front, reflecting his renewed focus on color.
Baeapbeop, a term coined by the artist, involves pushing thick layers of paint from the back side of the burlap canvas so that the paint oozes through, creating a unique texture on the surface.
The bright colors Ha employs for the new works are distinguished from his early works that feature colors commonly found in traditional Korean objects such as roof tiles or white porcelain, according to the gallery. The self-titled exhibition of Ha Chong-hyun is on view at the gallery's hanok space and K1.
Another exhibition, 'Nature Rules,' marks Choi Jae-eun's third presentation at the gallery with themes surrounding the origins of life, temporality, birth and extinction. The 72-year-old artist, currently based in Japan, has combined art and science to explore concepts of vitality and the cycle of life.
The ongoing exhibition shows her sensory analysis of the light and sound of the forest visualized through a variety of art, encompassing installation, video and sculptures.
Collecting fall leaves and flower petals during her walks through the forest in the Kyoto neighborhood where she currently resides, the artist utilized these natural materials as pigments for paint, applying them to her canvases. She aptly titled the series 'From the Forest.'
The sound installation of the artist's voice and nature echoing across the gallery makes one feel as though he or she were standing in the middle of a forest.
The artist moved to Tokyo in the mid-1970s and has since continued the 'Underground Project' series she began in 1986 by burying specially made paper in the ground, then unearthing it to analyze traces of accumulated time. The exhibition at the gallery takes place in the K2 and K3 spaces.
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