Choi Myoung Young — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: September 7 → October 7, 2023

The Creative World of Choi Myoung Young: Controlled Monotony, Infinite Variations

Korean modernist painting, or dansaekhwa (monochrome painting), holds a central position in Korean art history. Within the discussion and context of Korean modernism, Choi Myoung Young is indispensable. Born in Haeju, Hwanghae-do, in 1941, Choi defected to South Korea during the Korean War and grew up in Gunsan and Incheon. In 1957, he began studying art at Incheon National School of Education (now Gyeongin National University of Education) under master artist Chung Sanghwa after which he entered the Hongik University College of Fine Arts in 1960 to study painting. There, he built his artistic foundation through practical courses taught by artists Han Mook, Lee Bongsang, Lee Kyu-sang, and Kim Whanki, as well as theoretical courses taught by art historian Lee Kyung-sung, Korean art historian Choi Soon Woo, aesthetician Cho Yohan, and Buddhist philosopher Rhi Ki-yong. Choi once mentioned that the creative attitudes preached by Lee Kyu-sang and Kim Whanki back then served as a signpost in determining his artistic orientation. Such academic encounters with these artists on the flow of Korean modernism and its tangents served as a major impetus behind his course of work.

— Kim Hyoungmi, Curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA, Korea)