Walking tour of Korean art masters in Italy's floating city

Exterior view of the Palazzetto Tito, where Ha Chong-hyun's retrospective is being held as one of the 59th Venice Biennale's official "collateral events" / Courtesy of Kukje Gallery, Tina Kim Gallery

Four artists showcase different developments of Korea's modern art

By Park Han-sol

VENICE, Italy ― While the main charm of the 59th Venice Biennale lies in its flagship show, the International Art Exhibition, as well as the exhibitions put forth by 80 participating national pavilions, the city has plenty more to offer.

Numerous satellite shows are staged across Venice's winding labyrinth of palazzos, alleyways and bridges to coincide with the central exhibition, including 30 "collateral events" that have been officially approved by the biennale.

Among such shows, four are dedicated to the trailblazers of Korean modern art. Here's a day-long walking tour that can be planned out to enjoy the works of Korean art masters nestled within the classical Venetian palaces.

Installation view of Ha Chong-hyun's retrospective / Courtesy of Kukje Gallery, Tina Kim Gallery

First stop: Ha Chong-hyun's ceaseless journey captured in retrospective

The trip begins in the heart of Venice at the Palazzetto Tito.

It is here where the retrospective of Ha Chong-hyun is taking place as one of the Biennale-approved collateral events featuring a Korean creator, with the support of Venice's Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, the Seoul-based Kukje Gallery and the New York-based Tina Kim Gallery.

While predominantly known as a master of "Dansaekhwa" (monochrome painting), Ha's work spanning over six decades is best described as a ceaseless exploration and experimentation with materials ― an artistic journey that has been heavily influenced by the country's turbulent history, following the 1950-53 Korean War.

Accordingly, the retrospective, curated by Kim Sun-jung, aims to present the full breadth of his multifaceted creative journey, from his lesser-known "Naissance" series of the late 1960s to the evolution of his world-renowned "Conjunction" series that continues to this day.

"I first came across Ha's works when I visited the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993. This was two years before the Korean Pavilion was established, so his exhibition was located in a small corner at the back of the Italian Pavilion," Kim said.

"It is inspiring to see how far Korean art has come and grown over the past two decades. Back then, there were almost no satellite exhibitions like this one featuring Korean artists."

In the late 1950s, Ha initially pushed himself into the realm of gestural, non-geometric abstract painting in the style known as "Korean Informel." Throughout the next decade, however, he shifted his practice to explore Korea's traditional decorative art like Dancheong ― pattern-drawing on wooden surfaces based on five colors reflecting the philosophy of five fundamental elements ― as seen in "Naissance."

Installation view of Ha Chong-hyun's retrospective / Courtesy of Kukje Gallery, Tina Kim Gallery

As a founding member of the artist collective AG (Avant-Garde Association) in 1969, the creator began to experiment with giving a sense of three-dimensionality to his paintings with non-conventional materials ― barbed wire, plaster, newspaper and burlap bags ― which were found to be far more accessible in postwar Korea than any other imported resources.

It was this decision, made based on the accessibility of materials that eventually led Ha to invent a unique artistic vocabulary, "baeapbeop" (back-pressure method). The technique became a formative element for his trademark "Conjunction" series that began in 1974.

Baeapbeop involves applying thick oil paint to the back of a hemp canvas and pushing it with the likes of a wooden spatula through the cloth's coarse weave, thereby creating beads of paint seeping into the front surface.

At the Venice show, different stages of his "Conjunction" series can be witnessed, from his earlier pieces that utilized muted, earthy tones recalling traditional "giwa" roof tiles or white porcelain from Korean history, to the present-day incorporation of spirited colors and even thinly cut wooden shims onto the canvas to give more rhythmic dynamics.

Ha's retrospective runs until Aug. 24.

A detailed view of Chun Kwang-young's "Aggregation15-NV074" (2015) / Courtesy of the artist, CKY Studio

Second stop: Chun Kwang-young's hanji wonderland

After taking a seven-minute trip from the Palazzetto Tito through the city's winding maze of alleyways and bridges, visitors are now ready to dive into the mesmerizing wonderland of hanji (Korean paper made of mulberry) presented by artist Chun Kwang-young at the Palazzo Contarini Polignac.

As another official collateral event, "Times Reimagined" transforms the 15th-century Renaissance palace into Chun's immersive, scented laboratory filled with abstract lifeforms and cosmological objects ― all born from fragments of handmade traditional hanji.

The 77-year-old has used hanji as his dominant aesthetic language for more than three decades to create his "Aggregation" series.

After tearing the pages out of 100-year-old second-hand books, the artist folds them into thousands of triangular-shaped packages, inspired by the shapes of paper bags that he witnessed in his grandfather's traditional herbal medicine shop at a young age. He then dyes them in natural pigments like herbal tea, before assembling them to give birth to sculptures reminiscent of the rocky, crater-filled surface of moon, overgrown mushrooms and the shape of virus particles.

Installation view of "Chun Kwang Young: Times Reimagined" at the Palazzo Contarini Polignac ⓒ Alice Clancy / Courtesy of CKY Studio

"Aggregation 15-JL038" (2015), front, and "Aggregation 22-JA007 (Star1)" (2022) constitute a chamber nicknamed "The Heart Room" inside Chun's solo exhibition. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol

One dark room is dedicated to two of his sculptures that create an entirely new story when juxtaposed.

Chun's latest, round-shaped work dyed in bright red ("Aggregation 22-JA007 (Star1)") was originally nicknamed "star" by the artist. However, when installing the piece, curators decided to place it in conversation with another installation ("Aggregation 15-JL038"), which is much larger in size, gray and sickly looking, with a speaker inside the room playing the sound of an irregular heartbeat.

"It's like a wounded heart influenced by environmental and ecological issues versus a fresh, red-colored heart," the exhibition's associate curator Liyin Wang said.

The entire show which revolves around such labor-intensive yet meditative practice offers much-needed respite for anyone who sets foot inside. This sense of tranquility continues into the palazzo's garden, where Chun's paper art has been reinterpreted as an architectural structure.

Designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri, "Hanji House" is a foldable house that plays an interactive animation of Chun's triangular hanji packages floating and drifting freely inside. It's as if viewers are given a chance to go on a virtual walk through the dense interior of the artist's works.

"Times Reimagined" ends on Nov. 27.

Installation view of "Danh Vo, Isamu Noguchi, Park Seo-bo" at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia / Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol

Third stop: Park Seo-bo's 'Dansaekhwa'

After strolling through Chun's enchanting garden of hanji, it's now time to cross the Ponte dell'Accademia, one of only four arch bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice.

Another 20-minute walk down the narrow alleyways and across the Piazza San Marco takes visitors to the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, a magnificent residence-turned-museum founded by the Venetian noble Querini Stampalia family.

It is in this historic architecture where a group exhibition of Korean modern art master Park Seo-bo, Danish Vietnamese artist Danh Vo and Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi is being held.

As one of the founding members of the formative Dansaekhwa movement that emerged in the early 1970s in post-war Korea, Park has long been considered a living legend of Korean modern abstract art.

Park Seo-bo's "Ecriture No. 220122" (2022) / Courtesy of the artist, White Cube (Ollie Hammick)

The 90-year-old's signature "Ecriture" series ― from early "pencil-Ecriture" to the late "color-Ecriture" stages ― on view are layered with an emphasis on the meditative aspects of art production that come from the purposeless and endless repetition of an activity to the point of "emptying oneself out," according to the artist.

For his "color-Ecriture" pieces, Park first applies several layers of wet hanji to the canvas and uses flat-edged tools to draw vertical lines repeatedly, until rows of narrow ridges are formed. When the surface dries up, he adds acrylic paint to mimic the sumptuous hues he witnesses from nature and urban landscapes ― maple leaves, canola flowers and a shimmering bridge over the Han River at night, for example.

Together with Vo's colorful photographic portraits of European garden flowers and Noguchi's multiform paper Akari lamps, Park's decades-long Dansaekhwa series is in dialogue with the rich 19th-century history and decor of the Fondazione.

The group exhibition of three artists, held in collaboration with London-based White Cube, runs until Nov. 27.

Installation view of Lee Kun-yong's "Bodyscape" at the Palazzo Caboto / Courtesy of the artist, Gallery Hyundai

Fourth and final stop: Lee Kun-yong's 'Bodyscape'

The fourth and final stop on this walking tour is at the Palazzo Caboto near the Venice Biennale's main venue of Arsenale, just a 15-minute walk from the Fondazione Querini Stampalia. It was a residence occupied by Venetian explorer Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot, until the late 1480s.

A compact three-story building showcases 18 pieces from performative painter Lee Kun-yong's iconic "Bodyscape" series ― all of them created in time for the Biennale.

This is Gallery Hyundai's third installment to introduce Korea's trailblazing experimental artists at the palazzo, followed by Lee Seung-taek in 2017 and Lee Kang-so in 2019.

It was in 1976 when Lee Kun-yong began his ongoing, nine-part painting methodology of body drawing known as "Bodyscape," as part of his effort to revolutionize the form of self-expression in response to Korea's military dictatorship at the time.

Installation view of Lee Kun-yong's "Bodyscape" / Courtesy of the artist, Gallery Hyundai

"As the title literally indicates, it is a landscape formed by the artist's body itself," the gallery's creative director Kim Jae-seok explained. "The works are born from brushstrokes whose shapes and rhythms are dictated by Lee's height of 170 centimeters and the length of his limbs."

In other words, it's his body that does all the talking, in a quite defiant way.

Without ever directly facing his painting, the 80-year-old artist applies brushstrokes by standing either behind the canvas, with his back to the canvas or next to the canvas. While his aim lies solely on drawing only as far as his arm can reach, it also unintentionally gives birth to the colorful shapes of hearts and angelic figures that we see at the palazzo.

"Bodyscape" runs until July 3.