Ha Chong-Hyun, a master of monochrome painting, is set to hold his first major retrospective in North America at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.
The International Gallery announced on September 23 that the exhibition, titled 'Ha Chong-Hyun: Retrospective,' will run from September 25, 2026, to January 25, 2027.
The exhibition will feature 50 paintings, spanning from Ha's early works in the 1960s to new pieces created in 2025 and 2026, illuminating over 60 years of the artist's oeuvre. It aims to explore Ha's trajectory beyond the category of monochrome painting, examining his role in shaping the flow of post-war Korean abstract art.
Born in 1935, Ha has navigated major trends in contemporary Korean art, including Informel, geometric abstraction, experimental art, and monochrome painting, since the Korean War. He was a founding member of the Korean Avant-Garde Association in 1969, where he experimented with everyday materials such as newspaper and barbed wire.
Since 1974, he has developed the innovative 'back-pressure method,' which involves pushing paint from the back of burlap to create a unique texture on the canvas. This technique, which captures the traces of pressure, resistance, and time, has been a key factor in gaining Ha international recognition.
This exhibition will also place Ha within the context of global abstract art post-World War II. It will compare his work with Western artists like Donald Judd and Agnes Martin, focusing on how Ha incorporates material resistance, traces of labor, and imperfection into his art.
Kim Sun-jung, the invited curator and director of the Art Sonje Center, stated, “Rather than limiting Ha Chong-Hyun to a single historical category of monochrome painting, this exhibition allows us to view him as an artist who has continuously experimented with the boundaries of painting amid the changes in post-war Korean society.”
Ha finds the significance of this exhibition in the 'present' rather than the 'past.' He expressed, “Having a large-scale retrospective in the cultural and artistic center of American art at over ninety years old is truly an honor. This exhibition is meaningful as it fully showcases my ongoing work, not just a legacy of the past.”
Additionally, the exhibition is supported by SK and the Podo Museum. The Podo Museum decided to sponsor the event, resonating with the exhibition's purpose of introducing Korean art internationally and shedding new light on Ha Chong-Hyun's artistic world.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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