[Exhibition of the Week] ‘Light and Spirit’ Jangsang's Exhibition · Lee Heedon Solo Exhibition and More

Jang Sang-ui, From Kaesong to Seoul (partial). 1989. Ink and color on Korean paper. Photo by Icheon Municipal Woljeon Museum of Art

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] ▲Light and Soul: 60 Years of Jang Sang Exhibition = The Icheon City Woljeon Museum of Art is holding the autumn special exhibition "Light and Soul: 60 Years of Jang Sang." This exhibition comprehensively highlights the artistic world of Jang Sang, a leading contemporary Korean painter who pioneered a unique path by blending traditionalism and modernity, as well as the aesthetics of literati painting and abstract art. It offers an opportunity to appreciate the artist’s 60-year oeuvre, skillfully handling various materials such as ink, color, paper, and silk with outstanding artistic sensibility.

“Light and Soul” are key themes that run through the 60-year artistic career of Jang Sang. Although the direction and expression of his works have continuously evolved over his long painting history, the thematic consciousness of light and soul has remained unchanged. This exhibition focuses on these themes to revisit the artist’s works. In the early period of his career, during the 1960s and 1970s, the artist’s work was characterized by the prominent use of ink as a drawing material, the use of unique supports such as hemp cloth (mapo) and ramie (mosi) that create distinctive effects, and an orientation toward abstraction as a method.

Jang Sang-ui. Dream. 2001. 50x80. Ink on Korean paper. Photo courtesy of Icheon Municipal Woljeon Museum of Art

Recently, the artist has once again been focusing on ink in his works, reminiscent of his early period. The canvas divided into areas with three shades of dense and light ink evokes a unique geometric compositional beauty. To fill what might otherwise feel empty, a restrained aesthetic is expressed by a sharp and straight golden line piercing through the space. The work metaphorically represents the time of pain as night and darkness, ultimately capturing the moment when dawn breaks and sunlight shines?a hopeful expression by the artist. In this exhibition, the artist presents about 40 works ranging from early to recent pieces. The exhibition runs until November 27 at the Icheon City Woljeon Museum of Art, Gwanggo-dong, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Kim Jigu, _Wolkwang_, oil on canvas, 72.5x60.5cm. Photo by TYA Gallery

▲Kim Jigu Solo Exhibition = TYA Gallery is hosting a solo invitational exhibition of artist Kim Jigu. The artist is a first-year emerging artist who began working in October 2021 and gained significant attention for his unique works at the '2022 ASYAAF' held at Hongik University this year. The exhibition features a total of 18 paintings.

The artist captures the raw appearance of the Earth and explores how we exist within it. He faithfully depicts the subject to convey the feelings he received from the natural “rawness,” creating works from a perspective as if looking down from above.

Like the living creatures in his paintings who aim to live peacefully and happily, the artist says, “People constantly compete and develop themselves for a better version, enduring wounds and hardships along the way.” He adds, “In a competitive society, if we slow down a tempo and live enjoying the moment, even if slowly, perhaps we can find peace in our own Earth.”

Although he has not yet fully found it, the artist hopes for a moment of peace like the living creatures in his works. Through the exhibition, viewers can feel warmth and comfort from the life forms on Earth they wish to preserve, experiencing a sense of entering a peaceful moment. The exhibition runs until the 20th at TYA Gallery, Jahamun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Poster of Hee-don Lee's solo exhibition 'Inyeon (緣): Communication with the World'. Photo by Sungkok Art Museum

▲Lee Heedon Solo Exhibition “Connection (緣): Communication with the World” = The solo exhibition of Lee Heedon, a second-generation monochrome painter, is held at Sungkok Art Museum. As a leading figure of post-monochrome painting, Lee Heedon has created his own unique and Korean-style works by combining mulberry paper fibers with paint.

The semi-solidified paint independently intertwines with other paints, appearing on the canvas in various forms. The countless intertwined shapes of paint that emerge in this process can be seen as “connections (緣)” encountered in human life. For over 40 years, the artist has continued working on this theme, aiming to communicate with the world through various relationships with materials found in human life.

The process of dissolving mulberry paper and mixing it with acrylic paint not only expresses texture but also embodies a spiritual bond with traditional culture. One of the emotional characteristics of Koreans is a humble attitude, which means not outwardly showing one’s presence but hiding it inside. In other words, it is a virtue of modesty that lowers oneself or refrains from outward display, and this sentiment aligns closely with his work.

Although the presence clearly exists, it is not directly revealed; rather, its presence is subtly hinted at, which is the virtue of modesty. The artist’s subtle revelation of the fibrous presence of mulberry paper through his work resonates with this sentiment. The expressive image of fibers appearing like threads at the edges of the work can be interpreted as a facet of the emotional characteristics of Koreans.

The artist composes the surface by repeatedly performing a meditative act of stacking his unique material?a mixture of ground mulberry bark and acrylic paint?using a perforation technique that drills holes in the canvas or box, a method for which he holds a patent. By stacking horizontally and vertically dozens of times, quickly or slowly like a ritual, Lee Heedon’s distinctive three-dimensional forms emerge. Through material research and experimental spirit, he obtained a material invention patent (No. 10-1487418) and steadily builds his own domain amid the monochrome painting craze. The exhibition runs until the 20th at Sungkok Art Museum, Gyeonghuigung-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.