윤형근 개인전 Yun Hyong-keun

January 17—March 7, 2020

David Zwirner, NY

Opening Reception: Friday, January 17, 6–8 PM

David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by Yun Hyong-keun, on view at the gallery’s 537 West 20th Street location in New York. Focusing on the artist’s work from the late 1980s and 1990s, the exhibition will feature a selection of Yun’s distinctive abstract paintings from this late period in his career.

One of the most significant Korean artists of the twentieth century, Yun is widely recognized for his signature abstract compositions, which engage with yet transcend Eastern and Western art movements and visual traditions. Using a restricted palette of ultramarine and umber, Yun created his compositions by adding layer upon layer of paint onto raw canvas or linen, often applying the next coat before the last one had dried. He diluted the pigments with turpentine solvent, allowing them to seep into the fibers of the support, staining it in a similar way to traditional ink on absorbent paper. Working directly on his studio floor, he produced simple arrangements of intensely dark, vertical bands surrounded by untouched areas. The division was softened by the blurred edges caused by the uneven rates of absorption of oil and solvent, and the compositions often developed over several days, even months, with the artist adding additional layers or letting the pigments bleed out gradually.

윤형근(Yun Hyong-Keun 尹亨根, 1928-2007) 

윤형근 화백은 수묵화의 농담에서 착안 물감의 번지는 기능에서 착안한 모노크롬 회화, 단색화가 트레이드마크. 리넨(linen)에 묽은 물감을 발라 스스로 흡수되어 번져나가가며 여러차례 겹쳐진다. 암갈색과 군청색을 혼합, 단순한 검은색이 아니라 오묘하고, 심연의 색이 여백과 음양의 대조를 이루며, 명상의 화폭으로 승화한다.

충청북도 청원에서 태어난 윤형근 화백은  청년 시절 군인 초상화가로 일했다. 서울대 미대에 진학했다가 한국전쟁 때 홍익대 서양화과에 편입했다. 수화 김환기 화백의 사위이기도 하다. 독일 스트라스부르 현대미술관, 독일 로이틀링겐 콘크리트 예술재단, 텍사스 말파의 치내티 파운데이션 등 전시. 1975년 상파울로 비엔날레 한국관 대표 작가였으며, 베니스 비엔날레(1995)에 참가했다. 

 *세계 미술계에 부는 한국 단색화 열풍 <1> 단색화의 태동에서 부활까지