Johyun Gallery Seoul presents a dual exhibition featuring Chung Chang Sup and Kwon Dae Sup, on view from March 6 to April 20.

Chung Chang Sup, a pioneering figure of Korea’s first-generation Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) movement, is renowned for integrating Hanji—traditional Korean paper made from mulberry bark—into his canvases. Kwon Dae Sup, on the other hand, carries forward the legacy of Joseon white porcelain, pushing its boundaries to explore contemporary plasticity.

Despite working in different eras and mediums, both artists delve into the essence of Korean aesthetics, where materiality and spirit harmoniously converge across time and tradition.

This exhibition highlights the profound artistic worlds of both masters, who have deeply engaged with the intrinsic qualities of their materials. Featured works include eight pieces from Chung Chang Sup’s ‘Meditation’ series, which he began in 1980, specifically works created between 1999 and 2003, along with four Moon Jars by Kwon Dae Sup from 2024. This exhibition will showcase the artistic worlds of both artists, who are deeply engaged with the unique properties of their materials.

Chung Chang Sup embraced the aesthetics of Western Art Informel while simultaneously exploring the possibilities of Korean abstract art through a naturalistic philosophy. Beginning in the 1970s, he adopted hanji, traditional Korean paper made from mulberry trees, as his primary material. From the 1980s onward, he developed his ‘Meditation’ series, investigating forms that "are not painted yet appear, are not intended yet come into being."

The process of hand-molding mulberry bark paper and spreading it onto the canvas goes beyond visual composition, emphasizing the material’s intrinsic properties. The repetitive actions of kneading, pounding, and pressing the mulberry bark paper reveal accidental forms and delicate patterns within its texture, while simultaneously allowing the artist to empty the self and reach a state of deep immersion.

Kwon Dae Sup has spent nearly 50 years studying 17th- and 18th-century white porcelain from the Joseon Dynasty, reinterpreting its traditions through a contemporary lens. Among his works, the 45 cm-tall ‘Moon Jar’ stands out as a uniquely Korean ceramic form. Navigating between tradition and experimentation, Kwon works guided not by rigid rules but by intuition and sensation. He creates without pretension, simply crafting what he desires—and it is within this honest process that the aesthetic spirit of Korean craftsmanship truly lives.

Chung’s ‘Meditation’ series and Kwon’s ‘Moon Jars’ transcend simple forms, reinterpreting Korean sentiments from different eras and traditions in a contemporary lens. This exhibition highlights the originality and continuity of Korean art, offering an opportunity to explore the past and future of Korean aesthetics—an ongoing phenomenon that continues to thrive within the currents of the post-postmodern era, even after the supposed end of Western minimalism in the 1970s.

“Chung Chang Sup & Kwon Dae Sup”
2025.03.06 - 2025.04.20
Tue-Sun 10:30 am – 6:30 pm
Johyun Gallery Seoul
249, Dongho-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea

Ji Yeon Lee has been working as an editor for the media art and culture channel AliceOn since 2021 and worked as an exhibition coordinator at samuso (now Space for Contemporary Art) from 2021 to 2023.