One of the May art events, Art Basel Hong Kong exhibition, will kick off this week, showcasing works from many international artists. Beaudoin recently announced a dual exhibition featuring two renowned Korean artists, Kim Jong-hak and Lee Young-pyo.
//Kim Jong-hak//
Inspired by the experience of Mount Seorak in northern South Korea, Kim Jong-hak creates works that are impressions of nature. Using pouring, splashing, and heavy application of paint, he colors the unstretched canvas to create images of life, leaving quick dynamic traces on the canvas with his hands and brushstrokes. When painting the native flowers of Mount Seorak, he reorganizes and even recreates them, transforming the impressions of these plants in his mind into vibrant colors on the canvas.
Jin Zongxue presents in his works the vitality and seasonal cycles he observes in the mountains and fields, often depicting intertwined or overturned subjects that release a surging life force. His works differ from typical still life and plein air paintings, as the plants in his paintings directly engage with the viewer, creating an equal relationship. Furthermore, his works emphasize the presence, realism, and independence of the subjects, not as direct copies of reality, but as a transfer of the visual and emotional impressions nature gives him onto the canvas in an explosive form, depicting impressions of flowers.
//Lee Young-bae//
Another Korean artist, Lee Young-bae, uses charcoal as his main creative material, and reexamines and interprets classic Korean calligraphy from a contemporary perspective. He is aware that the meaning of calligraphy can change with the cultural understanding of the viewer, transcending the limits of creation. The “Brushstroke” series uses powder generated from a highly labor-intensive charcoal burning process for painting, extending his exploration of personal and artistic self. Initially choosing charcoal for economic reasons as it is a readily available material, as his understanding of charcoal deepened, he discovered its uniqueness in preserving narrative and historical significance.
Li Young-bae carefully studied the powerful nature of charcoal, with the charcoal formed in his kiln in Cheongdo County collected on the canvas, meticulously polished continuously, and eventually becoming the work of “Issu du feu.” The polished charcoal fragments are combined to create dense and multi-faceted paintings, presenting an immeasurable spectrum of black and gray.
In addition, there is also the “Landscape” series of works, where compressed charcoal in square shapes appears to float or impact the white space on the canvas. The dense black and white background are juxtaposed, leaving an indelible mark and highlighting the materiality of charcoal. It is worth mentioning that charcoal has long been considered to have the ability to ward off evil in Eastern culture, and Lee Young-bae hopes to bring a space of spiritual purification to this turbulent world through this series of works.
Date: May 19th to 23rd
Location: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 1D20
圖片提供：貝浩登、Instagram@kimchonghak.official
