One Breath – Infinite Vision | 21 September - 3 November 2019

INK studio Beijing is pleased to present One Breath–Infinite Vision, an exhibition of Korean ink art curated by Yu Yeon Kim. The exhibition includes twenty-six works by nine Korean artists, Choi Ildan, Cho Duck Hyun, Jeong Gwang Hee, Kim Ho Deuk, Kim Jongku, Lee In, Lim Hyun Lak, Lim Oksang, and Ahn SungKeum.

Korean ink art is notable for a poignancy of expression that derives as much from its portrayal of the physical world as it does from an inner space – a quantity that is both abstract and spiritual. While some of the works in this exhibition reflect the classical rendering of calligraphic and landscape painting, others translate these traditions through a contemporary vision that includes painting, sculpture, video, installation, performance and other media.

The artists included in this exhibition are shaped by a society that has undergone great upheavals, both politically and socially – one that has also seen great technological advancements. Nevertheless, their vision – while reflecting contemporary concerns and the diaspora experience – as with their forebears, presents the physical world only as an indicator of a greater space. In Korean ink art, the use of line, perspective and minimalist gesture is highly significant: it embodies the Seon Buddhist concept of “full emptiness” in which an unfinished/finished white space is left to convey a sense of a vastness existing beyond the perceived physical plane.

One Breath – Infinite Vision presents a concept of contemporary Korean ink art that incorporates the past, present and the future not chronologically but as an equivalent time plane. The title refers to that point when brush is applied to paper without hesitation or retreat – as an exhalation that creates, with that spontaneous and poetic gesture, a vision of humanity’s relationship to nature and the infinite.

About the Curator

Yu Yeon Kim is an independent curator based in New York City, USA and Seoul, Korea. She has curated and been a commissioner of many distinguished international exhibitions of contemporary art. Kim was the curator/commissioner/researcher of various international art fairs, including the 1stMediation Biennale, Poland (2008), the Liverpool Biennale, England (2004), the 1stMexico Painting Biennale, Mexico City, the 3rd Gwangju Biennale, Korea (2000), and the 2ndJohannesburg Biennale, South Africa (1997-1998). Selected curatorial projects and exhibitions include: New Conjunctions, the United National Headquarter, New York (2016); Fluid Form II (Arab Contemporary Art), the Busan Museum of Art and Blue Square Samsung, Seoul (2014); Hanji Metamorphoses, the Rubin Museum of Art, UN Korean Embassy & Chelsea venues, New York (2012); and Tong, Link, Contemporary Art and Buddhism, Sungbo Museum and Haeinsa Temples, Korea (2011). Kim has also held numerous lectures and symposiums on contemporary art in universities and art institutions worldwide, including the Chuang-Ang University, Seoul; MOCA Sydney; Tate Modern, London; Asia Society, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; Shanghai Museum, China; and Ehwa University, Seoul, among many others.

About INK Studio

INK Studio is an art gallery based in Beijing. Its mission is to present Chinese experimental ink as a distinctive contribution to contemporary transnational art-making in a closely-curated exhibition program supported by in-depth critical analysis, scholarly exchange, bilingual publishing, and multimedia production. Representing more than 13 artists, including Bingyi, He Yunchang, Li Jin, Li Huasheng, Wang Dongling, Yang Jiechang, and Zheng Chongbin, the gallery exhibits works of diverse media, including painting, calligraphy, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, and video. Since its inception in 2012, INK Studio has regularly appeared at art fairs such as the Armory Show (New York), Art Basel Hong Kong, and West Bund Art & Design (Shanghai) and placed works into major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, and M+, Hong Kong.