Exhibition Information

Ecriture No.010521
2001 Black ink white clam and oyster shell powder and glue with Korean Hanji paper on canvas 130x195cm

Ecriture No.021030
2002 Acrylic with Korean Hanji paper on canvas 195x162cm

Ecriture No.030329
2003 Mixed media with Korean Hanji paper on canvas 145.5x112.3cm

Ecriture No. 080803
2008 Mixed media with Korean Hanji paper on canvas 112x145cm

			<Introduction of an exhibition>

Cho Hyun-hwarang will hold a solo exhibition from Dec. 12 to Feb. 16 next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the firework of Korean abstract art pioneer Park Seo-bo. The exhibition will be held simultaneously at the Moonlight Cho Hyun Hwa-rang and the newly opened Haeundae Cho Hyun Hwa-rang as the venue for an intensive view of the latter art series from 1991 to 2018.

Park Seo-bo led Korean contemporary art to establish itself in the global art market through individual exhibitions at Whitecube and Perotang Gallery. Also, a large-scale retrospective held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul in May was another chance to confirm the significance of Park Seo-bo's art history. Such exhibitions at home and abroad show that he has been playing a key role in Korean abstract art, still drawing keen interest in the art world.

The relationship between Cho Hyun-hwa and Park Seo-bo goes back to 1991. Cho Hyun-hwa held the first solo exhibition by Park Seo-bo that year and organized a total of 12 exhibitions, including the individual exhibition. Also, 1991 was a time when a series of post-magical techniques, which explored the character and physical behavior of hanji through vertical lines, was slowly introduced. In that sense, the exhibition, which will summarize the latter-stage art series from 1991 to 2018, is a very meaningful occasion for both the long-standing gallery and writer.

Park Seo-bo's art series are divided into electric tricks using pencils, medium-term techniques that show discontinuous lines using Chinese characters, and later versions of straight-line plots in which lines fall vertically. He breaks away from the electric method of drawing lines repeatedly on canvas surfaces with pencils, and makes the sculpture complete by creating a long line at regular intervals since the first attempt to raise hanji on canvas surfaces and push tools such as sticks and ruler into oblique lines. In mid- and late-stage art, the characteristic of hanji, which is used to hold water and spread color, plays an important role in the work. For writer Park Seo-bo, who sought to unite with nature, the meeting with Hanji was an important event and turning point.

In this exhibition, the latter technique of Park Seo-bo was divided into two main parts. First of all, the "straight-line technique" from the early 1990s to the early 2000s will be presented at the Moonlight Cho Hyun Hwa Rang. Beyond the complex pattern of zigzags, the work of this period, which is often referred to as the ‘straight trick’ due to simplified lines, is the result of thorough pre-conception. When he began working on the vertical pattern, he began to combine drawing work for the production, with refined rigor unlike improvised early or medium-term techniques. What is particularly noteworthy about the works of this period is that most of the work was done in a single hue. His work, restrained in black and white, reveals a deep feeling that seems to embrace the whole universe.

Introduced from the 2000s, the latter "color trick" will be displayed at the newly opened Haeundae Cho Hyun Gallery this month. This period of work is based on the screen configuration of vertical patterns, but uses colors that are contrasting or harmonizing. 
In 2000, Park Seo-bo casually looked at the beautifully colored maples, which became a decisive factor in the change of color-coded techniques. Since then, we have been working hard to capture the colors we have found from nature, and we have used more colors than ever. These changes add a new category called "discovery of colors" within the boundaries of the art method, showing the artist’s efforts to unite with nature through color as well as through the media.

The exhibition, which celebrates the 70th anniversary of artist Park Seo-bo's flower-making and summarizes the later art series, shows the result of the artist’s constant quest and experiment, which removed traces of his hands and instead created a regular long line. His changes are well illustrated in the same Eskis as in the design drawing, which is displayed with the ‘straight- But even in that process, the author has made changes without hesitation, not missing new inspiration for color. Boldly summing up the post-mystery series also proves that it is looking for a new direction. We hope that this exhibition will be a chance to trace the footsteps of Park Seo-bo's 70 years-long creative moves and try to figure out what other new directions the writer will take.