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| Chun Kwang Young - Courtesy Sundaram Tagore Gallery/Artist |
Chun Kwang Aggregation series has long been synonymous with contemplative earthy tones and meditative restraint—muted browns, greys, and sepias echoing hanji's organic origins and the tactile intimacy of Korean tradition.
Yet throughout his long, established career, the Korean master has also regularly evolved, slowly injecting colors into his creations. His most recent works, which will be on display at several galleries at Frieze Seoul and KIAF Seoul in September, showcase a profound chromatic awakening, demonstrating that at 81, the artist is still pushing himself to explore new chromatic territories.
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| Courtesy Sundaram Tagore Gallery/Artist |
His once subdued surfaces now pulse with vibrant hues—saturated pinks, indigo blues, luminous yellows—each drawn from natural dyes like gardenia, safflower, turmeric, and sappanwood.
The transformation is arresting. Where once Chun's triangular hanji parcels clustered in muted tones that spoke of age and memory, they now bloom like flower petals caught in perpetual spring. Each hue emerges from the same reverence for natural materials that has anchored Chun's practice since the late 1980s, when childhood memories of his great-uncle's apothecary first inspired his signature technique.
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| Courtesy Sundaram Tagore Gallery/Artist |
Earlier on in his career, Chun focused on using a restrained palette. He described his compositions as resembling "lunar landscapes and dry desert" that expressed his "anger and criticism toward modern society and how it is destroying the environment."
The subdued palette aligned with traditional Korean aesthetics of han—that complex emotional state encompassing sorrow, hope, and endurance. The works invited contemplation.
Chromatic changes started to appear around 2008, when Chun began introducing striking touches of color. Works like "Aggregation08-M002 Blue" featured pools of indigo nestled within characteristic crater-like formations, while "Aggregation08-JU011" incorporated rusty reds and mustard yellows.
The natural dyeing process introduces subtle gradations within each color family, creating chromatic depths that synthetic pigments cannot achieve. Up close, the works reveal their handmade nature in the slight variations of tone and texture.
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| Courtesy Sundaram Tagore Gallery/Artist |