Paintings by Ha Chong-hyun are part of “The Art of Dansaekhwa” exhibition at the Kukje Gallery in central Seoul. By Kim Sang-tae
Kukje Gallery in central Seoul has joined the art market’s recent move to shed more light on dansaekhwa, abstract paintings filled with minimal color and unusual textures, which dominated the Korean art scene in the 1970s.
The gallery’s new exhibition “The Art of Dansaekhwa” features seven leading figures of the movement: Kim Guiline, Chung Sang-Hwa, Chung Chang-Sup, Ha Chong-Hyun, Lee Ufan, Park Seo-Bo and Yun Hyong-Keun.
“The representative characteristics of Dansaekwha are texture from the innovative use of materials; traces of repetitive actions to finish paintings, which are linked to training the mind and body in Buddhism and other religions; and spiritual qualities from the traces,” the show’s curator, critic Yun Jin-sup, said at the press preview.
“Some people criticize dansaekhwa for being indifferent to the social reality of that time - the military dictatorship,” Lee said. “But that’s not true. Dansaekhwa was a kind of anti-painting and a resistance toward a reality filled with many limits and censorship.”
Lee, one of the best-known Korean artists internationally, is currently showing work at France’s Versailles. He was the seventh contemporary artist to hold a solo show at the chateau.
