한국현대회화 하이라이트: 모더니즘과 도전

Global Sae-A Art Space is pleased to present Highlights of Modern Korean Painting: Modernism and its Challenges from April 21 to August 1, 2026, offering a comprehensive and multi-layered overview of the development of modern Korean art.

This exhibition brings together 25 major paintings spanning from the mid-1950s to the 2000s, offering a broad perspective on the emergence and evolution of Korean modernism. Moving beyond a simple chronological survey, it examines the historical conditions under which modern Korean painting developed in the post-liberation period, while exploring the aesthetic currents that shaped its trajectory. Curated by Park Mihwa, a former curator at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the exhibition presents a narrative grounded in art historical research and informed by extensive institutional experience.

The exhibition is structured around two main axes. The first traces the shift in the 1950s and 1960s as artists moved away from academic realism, exploring new formal languages and a distinctly Korean identity, ultimately leading toward abstraction. The second focuses on the 1970s, when Dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) emerged as a defining movement, expanding the possibilities of painting through repetitive gestures and materiality, and marking a culmination of Korean abstraction.

Featuring 26 works by 14 major artists—including Kwon Okyon, Kim Kichang, Kim Chonghak, Kim Tschang-yeul, Kim Whanki, Ryu Kyungchae, Park Kosuk, Park Rehyun, Park Seo-bo, Yoon Jungsik, Rhee Seundja, Lee Ufan, Chung Sanghwa, and Ha Chonghyun—the exhibition offers a concentrated view of the formal achievements that define each period in modern Korean painting.

At the heart of the exhibition are Kim Whanki’s Universe (Dot Painting) series and key works by Lee Ufan. Kim Whanki’s Universe 05-IV-71 #200 will be presented horizontally to the public, following the original display method maintained by its longtime owner, Dr. Matthew Kim, who kept the work in his collection for 47 years. This installation recreates the way in which the collector experienced the painting in a domestic setting, offering viewers a new spatial perception distinct from conventional presentations.

Alongside this, Lee Ufan’s From Winds (1986), created at the height of the series, is a monumental work whose dynamic brushstrokes traverse a vast canvas, exemplifying the abstract thought and formal achievement attained by modern Korean painting.

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