Dansaekhwa in limelight in art hubs

A series of Dansaekhwa painting exhibitions are taking place at art fairs and exhibitions in the art hubs of New York, Brussels and France, solidifying the Korean monochrome art movement’s presence in the Western art scene.

Paintings of two acclaimed Dansaekhwa artists -- Ha Chong-hyun and Kwon Young-woo -- will be on view at Art Brussels from April 22-24, in Belgium. Are Brussels is one of the Europe’s oldest art fairs, founded in 1968. New York-based Tina Kim Gallery will present 20 paintings of Ha and Kwon at the main section of the fair that highlights established artists. 

Coinciding with Art Brussels is the group exhibition of Dansaekhwa artists, titled “When Process Becomes Form: Dansaekhwa and Korean Abstraction” at Villa Empain of the Boghossian Foundation, which is co-organizing the exhibition with Seoul-based Kukje Gallery alongside Tina Kim Gallery.

The celebrated exhibition of Dansaekhwa paintings, previously shown at the Venice Biennale last year before arriving in Brussels, is one of the largest showcases of Dansaekhwa paintings outside of Korea, featuring some 50 paintings by seven leading Dansaekhwa artists, including the works of Ha and Kwon, presented at Art Brussels. The yearlong exhibition ends Sunday.

The works on display are from the active periods for most of the Dansaekhwa painters --the 1960s to the 1980s. Here, viewers can find some earlier works of monochrome painters, such as a 1972 work with threads of barbed wire aligned on a white canvas by Ha Chong-hyun.

“It is in its distinct aesthetic, which is able to transcend all cultural barriers and speak to the visual sensibilities and inclinations in all of us, that the power of Dansaekhwa ultimately resides,” reads the press statement of the exhibition. 

In New York, Blum and Poe, one of the blue-chip galleries based in Los Angeles, is holding an interesting showcase that compares Korean monochrome paintings and American Minimalism, through May 21, at its New York branch gallery.

“Dansaekhwa and Minimalism” presents the most representative artists of each movement to highlight the subtle diversity of aesthetics and ideas explored by the two movements. Featured artists include Carl Andre, Chung Sang-hwa, Ha Chong-hyun, Donald Judd, Kwon Young-woo, Lee U-fan, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Agnes Martin, Park Seo-bo, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra and Yun Hyong-keun.

Following the exhibit, the gallery will present the first solo exhibition of the late Kwon Young-woo at its New York gallery in the U.S.

An upcoming exhibition in France will offer a chance to learn more about Lee U-fan beyond his paintings.

Against the idyllic vineyard at Chateau La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Reparade, France, Lee’s large sculptures and paintings will go on display at a gallery that opened last year at the vineyard-restaurant-art center near Aix-en-Provence, from May 29 to Sept. 24. 

The Chateau La Coste houses Lee’s site-specific installation “House of Air” along with other commissioned sculptures on permanent display at the site, such as Louis Bourgeois, Tracy Emin, Richard Serra and Tatsuo Miyajima.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)