ART'LOFT — CHUN KWANG YOUNG

05 : CHUN KWANG YOUNG BIOGRAPHY
Chun Kwang Young was born in 1944 in Hongcheon, South Korea. He received his BFA from Hong-Ik University, Seoul in 1968 and his MFA from Philadelphia College of Art in 1971.

Chun Kwang Young was marked by abstract expressionism in the 1970s, when he first traveled to the United States, which influenced his future artistic career. As a protagonist of Action painting and Colorfield painting, he begin his career by using colors and forms thus developing the pictorial chaos characteristic of his paintings.

Chun Kwang Young develops his particular universe of Korean culture and personal history in the mid-90s. A universe that portrays the dualities of the traditions of its country of origin and the drifts of the Western world. In 1995, the artist broke aside from conventions and abandoned his brush and canvas in favour of the traditional Korean mulberry paper, Hanji, used generally for writing and packaging of drugs or food. This traditional paper and the resulting packaging technique serve as a means of expression through large compositions, sometimes in the form of paintings and sometimes sculptural installations.

This assembling of individually wrapped hand-cut polystyrene triangles comprising ancient Korean or Chinese texts withholds several elements of the collective memory. It’s in these small triangles that reside all the power of his Aggregation work. According to Chun Kwang Young himself, these Aggregations are the windows reflecting his vision of humanity. His striking textured canvases and monumental organic sculptures give life to imaginary landscapes in colors and volume, therefore creating an infinite abstract space. It is an invitation to contemplation and reflection through the play of materials, colors and reliefs that rub shoulders, proposed by the artist.

In 2001, Chun Kwang Young was named Artist of the year by the South Korean National Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2009, he received the Presidential Prize from the Korean Ministry of Culture. His work has been rewarded with numerous distinctions, exhibited throughout the world and is present in important and numerous public and private collections.