To create his mesmerising works such as Umber - Blue, Yun Hyongkeun added layer upon layer of paint onto raw canvas and later hemp and linen, often applying new pigments before the last layer had dried. Umber - Blue, executed in 1985 is a mature work by the artist, and represents his signature aesthetic that he had been developing for over forty years. His work powerfully reflects the Korean sentiments that emerged after the Korean War (1950-1953), and the renewed investigation of materiality, tactility and more meditative approach to art making that drew upon Taoist and Buddhist philosophy. A first generation Dansaekhwa artist, Yun’s iconic oeuvre traces out a singular spirit of silence and purity entrenched in Eastern philosophies of nature and spiritual practices. One of the leading figures of the Korean Dansaekhwa movement, Yun Hyongkeun represents a calm yet resoundingly influential voice in the Korean post-war avant-garde.

This April, Sotheby’s Hong Kong offers an impressive selection of Minimalist artworks from the East and West, including outstanding works by Mary Corse, Mark Grotjahn, Ha Chonghyun, Jiro Takamatsu, Yun Hyongkeun, Lee Ufan, Chiyu Uemae and Natee Utarit. Drawing upon Taoist and Buddhist ideologies, this unique brand of minimalist abstraction has established the significance of the Korean avant-garde within the narrative of Contemporary art. As in works by the American Minimalists, Dansaekhwa paintings invited and deflected the viewer’s gaze in ways that enabled audiences to affirm their own sense of presence, yet with significant political implications against the backdrop of authoritarian South Korea. monochrome painting-emerged in Korea in the 1970s, a movement that embraced minimalist aesthetics yet remained firmly rooted in tradition and the context of the aftermath of the Korean war. Specifically, Dansaekhwa-which literally translates to “single colour painting”, i.e.

Often employing the forms of hard-edged squares and rectangles, Minimalist artists devised nonhierarchical, mathematically regular compositions, eschewing external references and instead focusing on the art object’s literal presence.Ĭoncurrently in the East, artists in Japan and Korea began to embrace a Minimalist aesthetic, seeking new methods to reflect the desire for regeneration and nation-rebuilding after the Second World War and subsequently, the Korean War. Inspired by Constructivism, De Stijl, and the readymades of Marcel Duchamp, Minimalist artists in the West favoured materiality and precision over emotion and overt action. Mphasising a cool and detached approach to art making and favouring pared down, purely self-referential geometric forms, American Minimalism emerged in the 1960s as a rejection of the heroic narratives of Abstract Expressionism so dominant in the previous decade.

Minimalist drawing meaning