[Gallery Walk] The Secret Spatiality Inherent in Geometric Abstraction... Jeong Eun-mo Solo Exhibition

Gallery Baton, Jeong Eun-mo Solo Exhibition Until November 9
Pioneering the Unique Realm of Geometric Abstraction
Hidden Spatiality Inherent in Geometric Abstract Style

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"

GB 5_Chung Eun-Mo_2021_C2136_oil on linen_95x95cm_Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Baton.

The importance of simplicity, as perceived by Leonardo da Vinci, has been echoed to the public from the slogan of Apple's 1977 PC 'Apple II' to the present day. The trajectory of artist Jeong Eun-mo, who has continued the work of planar division with colors on a two-dimensional plane, away from complex images, flashy compositions, and perspective, also appears at first glance as a series of simplicities. However, behind this lies meticulous architectural calculation, a sense of contrast and balance of colors, and a natural spatial sense emerging from juxtaposed colors?his unique painting world, heavily armed with sophistication, is layered deeply.

Jeong Eun-mo, an artist who has been active mainly in Europe centered in Italy since the mid-1980s, is holding a solo exhibition after 21 years. At Gallery Baton in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, starting from the 1st, the artist presents abstract paintings created with the colors and lines of painting.

The artist's work is significant in that he has independently pioneered the realm of geometric abstraction, which is rare in the development process of contemporary Korean abstraction represented by monochrome painting. This exhibition reveals recent works where the contrast and mutual balance of colors stand out within the architectural structures implanted on the canvas.

GB 1_Chung Eun-Mo_2024_C2408_oil on linen_80x140cm_Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Baton.

Jeong Eun-mo’s works, which focus on the secret spatiality inherent in geometric abstraction and elements of both East and West, are a continuous process of creating neat and solid geometric planar spaces from places and scenes he has seen and experienced. This characteristic forms the basic foundation of the works and differentiates them by visually implying architectural structures through the organic harmony of distances and sizes between shapes and independent or adjacent color surfaces.

The subtle spatiality embodied in the works through this approach is the result of long-term exploration and internalization of the stylistic characteristic of geometric abstraction emphasizing 'planarity.' The surfaces where vertical, horizontal, and curved lines coexist in his works born from this process are strict yet filled with musical vitality through the sublimity of color.

Although the artist left Korea relatively early and completed most of his studies and life in the Western world, Eastern elements appear in the colors, tones, and textures of his works. Just as the two-dimensional surface of Goryeo celadon reveals a profound depth of tone through clay, coloring, glaze, and firing, Jeong Eun-mo’s geometric abstraction goes beyond the existing schema of realizing orderly and logical structures to embody his experiences, personal reflections, and imagery in a softer and more organized form.

Artist Jeong Eun-mo. ⓒA.Rosetti. [Photo by Gallery Baton]

In works depicting the color development of light softly changing upon encountering space, a warm sentiment is also felt. The delicate visual spatial sense, different from the normative order of minimalism, offers sophistication.

Gallery Baton explained, "This characteristic of the artist is also related to his deep understanding of Malevich’s abstract art and Albers’ Op Art."

The exhibition runs until November 9.

About artist Jeong Eun-mo

He moved from Seoul to New York, USA, in the mid-1960s and earned a master's degree at Pratt Institute. He currently resides and works in Italy. Over the past 40 years, he has held solo exhibitions in major cities worldwide including New York, Rome, Munich, and Seoul, and received acclaim for site-specific installation works at the Irish Museum of Modern Art solo exhibition (1994). His works are held in collections such as the Ulster Museum in the UK, the Lenbachhaus Municipal Art Museum in Germany, the Terni Museum of Contemporary Art in Italy, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the Seoul Museum of Art.