Korean art scene reflects on legacy of late Park Seo-bo
Artist Park Seo-bo speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Gizi, which triples as his home, studio and gallery, in Seoul's Yeonhui-dong, May 14, 2019. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
The art world is mourning the loss of Park Seo-bo, the trailblazing Korean abstract painter who passed away at the age of 91 on Saturday.
Widely credited as the father of the country’s now-celebrated "dansaekhwa" (monochrome painting) movement, Park and his legacy reached far beyond his home country as evidenced by the international outpouring of condolences and tributes.
Formed in the early 1970s, the postwar movement emphasizes the meditative aspects of art production itself, derived from the purposeless and endless repetition of gestures, thereby enabling spiritual catharsis through painting. For over five decades, he dedicated his practice to the iconic, ever-evolving “Ecriture” series.
Park was one of the key figures highlighted at the landmark dansaekhwa group show at the 2015 Venice Biennale, which subsequently propelled the participating creatives to international acclaim and bidding frenzies at auctions.
Park Seo-bo's "Ecriture No. 210125" (2021) / Courtesy of the artist, Johyun Gallery
Park Seo-bo's "Ecriture No. 120715" (2012) / Courtesy of the artist, Kukje Gallery
The memorial service for Park, held at Seoul National University Hospital’s funeral hall, witnessed a steady stream of mourners from the domestic art community paying their last respects to the dansaekhwa master.
Esteemed artists such as Chung Sang-hwa, Lee Bae, Lee Kang-so, Kim Ku-lim, Suh Seung-won and Youn Myeung-ro, along with figures like Gwangju Biennale Foundation President Park Yang-woo and Culture Minister Yoo In-chon were seen attending the service.
Messages of remembrance poured in on social media as well.
Ha Chong-hyun, another leading champion of the dansaekhwa genre, renowned for his “Conjunction” series, expressed his condolences online. Referring to Park as his “longtime colleague,” the artist shared a series of photos depicting their journey together, spanning from decades ago to their most recent encounter at the Venice Biennale.
“He persisted in nurturing his passion for new exhibitions and dedicated himself to his craft until the very end,” Johyun Gallery wrote on social media, paying tribute to Park’s enduring legacy as a creative and educator.
The Busan-based gallery is currently hosting a solo exhibition of the artist, featuring 35 of his latest “Ecriture” paintings and ceramic works, including the 4.4-meter-long “Ecriture No. 100928.” Earlier this summer, the gallery co-organized a group show with Park, Lee Bae and Jin Meyerson at the Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Kukje Gallery founder and chairperson Lee Hyun-sook noted that "his lifelong commitment to his art will remain a timeless legacy in Korean art history."
"Our collaboration with him was made possible by his involvement from the outset, as he played a challenging yet pivotal role in introducing the initiatives of dansaekhwa to the global art community," Lee is quoted as saying on the Korean gallery's social media.
Seen above is an installation view of "Origin, Emergence, Return," mounted at the Rockefeller Center's Rink Level Gallery in New York City. The group exhibition, co-presented by the center and Busan-based Johyun Gallery, spotlighted three generations of Korean art ― Park Seo-bo, Lee Bae and Jin Meyerson ― from June 8 to July 23. Courtesy of David Yong Hwan Lee
In its statement commemorating Park’s passing, the London-based White Cube art gallery described the veteran painter as “a giant of Korean art.”
“His ‘Ecriture’ series embraces an introspective methodology that had its origins in Taoist and Buddhist philosophy and also in the Korean tradition of calligraphy. This spiritual approach is inextricably linked to notions of time, space and material," it wrote.
The leading art dealer, which represents Park, hosted the first solo show of his works in the United Kingdom at its Mason’s Yard location in 2016. The gallery will mount another exhibition of the artist in its new New York space next year.
“For many years, every time I visited Seoul, my visits to Park were marked by the impression of great privilege. That of meeting a great master who influenced several generations of artists. We will miss him very much,” stated Emmanuel Perrotin, the founder of the eponymous Paris-based art dealership Perrotin that also represents Park.
The gallery was the first to introduce the painter to the European art scene with its inaugural solo exhibition in 2014.
In his 2019 interview with The Korea Times, Park presciently revealed what he wanted his future epitaph to say: "Those who don't change will perish, but so will those who do."
"It means that you have to work diligently to change 'well.' If not, even a master can plummet to a small-time artist in the blink of an eye," he said.
Park will be interred at Bundang Memorial Park in Gyeonggi Province.
The first museum dedicated to the artist, tentatively dubbed the Park Seo-bo Art Museum, is scheduled to open to the public next summer in Seogwipo, Jeju Island.