Kyoto Meetings

For ACK 2024, Johyun Gallery presents an exhibition featuring three masters of Korean contemporary art whose practices delve into various forms to express the innate energy of nature. Park Seo-Bo, Lee Bae, and Kim Chong Hak are leading voices of their generation, challenging art norms with roots deeply embedded in Eastern philosophy and traditions, emphasizing nature’s potential to heal and purify. Park Seo-Bo’s paintings, mirroring nature’s colors, serve as a remedy for viewers’ anxieties. Following a transformative trip to Japan in 2000, where the vibrant autumn foliage left an indelible mark, Park Seo-Bo resolved to capture nature’s hues on canvas. His Ecriture series in red, inspired by foliage in Kyoto—where he visited every year during his lifetime to see the autumn leaves-embodies this endeavor. This time, Lee Bae presents works that draw upon the language of karesansui. Just as the rocks on the white gravel of Ryoanji resonate with each other, Lee’s sculptures create a harmonious presence within the space. Lee Bae, renowned for his charcoal abstractions, bridges Eastern and Western cultures through his work, using charcoal as a medium to symbolically express the extraordinary within the ordinary. Inspired by mountain creatures, Kim Chong Hak continues his “kiwoon saengdong” (氣韻生動-‘breathing, resonating, vital force’) style that traverses both abstract and figurative forms. Evolving from his exploration of nature’s beauty in the 1980s, Kim’s work showcases decades of masterful palettes developed for each season, embodying vitality and resonance.