Ha Chong-Hyun

Ha Chong-Hyun (b. 1935) is a prominent figure in the Dansaekhwa movement, which is often characterized by Korean monochrome painting. This movement distinguishes itself from Western abstract minimalism through its research of the formal structure of the picture plane and incorporation of East Asian spirituality.

Pivotal within Dansaekhwa, Ha has been associated with various artistic styles throughout his career, from Art Informel in the 1950s and geometric abstraction in the late ’60s, to experimental object-based works in the early ’70s. Ha is perhaps best-known for his “Conjunction” series, which he started in the mid-1970s and continues today alongside his “Post-Conjunction” series. Throughout his work, Ha has consistently explored the properties and possibilities of materials, while in dialogue with the broader concerns and discourses of the Korean art scene of his time.  

In 1969, Ha co-founded the Korean Avant-Garde Association (AG), which included artists and critics in their thirties who sought to generate a new formative direction for Korean art under the banner of avant-garde. The association published a periodical and held group exhibitions. During this time, Ha challenged conventional views on mediums, and fostered dynamic interactions between different materials by incorporating objects like barbed wire and springs into his works. 

Ha’s experimentation with materials continued even after his return to canvas in the mid-1970s. In 1974, he began his “Conjunction” series, in which he pushes thick oil paint from the reverse side of a plain, woven-hemp canvas. Unlike other contemporary works that emphasize flatness, Ha’s paintings, as noted by art critic Nakahara Yusuke, expand space outwards in a direction perpendicular to the canvas.[1] At the same time, the artist harmoniously unites paint with burlap by allowing the paint to penetrate through the coarse weave of the burlap. Thus, the “Conjunction” series can be understood less as traditional painting and more as an extension of his object-based practice’s strong emphasis on materiality. As critic Lee Yil pointed out, Ha’s canvas works should be viewed as “flattened objects.”[2] During the mid- to late 1970s, Ha primarily worked with paint and the natural color of hemp cloth, seeking a “conjunction” between the two. Ha transformed the paint into a material that is physically integrated with the burlap itself.

By the mid- to late 1980s, his practice transformed to foreground the physical body, revealing how the materiality of his work is engaged through the artist’s actions. In the 1990s, while his bold brushstrokes continued to highlight the physical act of painting, Ha began experimenting with a darker, more saturated color palette. His “Post-Conjunction” series, started in 2008, reinterprets and expands upon the technique he used in the “Conjunction” series by incorporating oil paint squeezed between canvas-wrapped wooden sticks and repeatedly scratching the paint with a tool he crafted himself. His focus on materiality, form, and process reveals a deep commitment to examining the intersections between physical and conceptual aspects of art. This ongoing exploration not only solidifies his place within the Dansaekhwa movement, but also positions him as a significant contributor to the dialogue surrounding contemporary painting in a global context.

Ha Chong-Hyun has lived and worked in Seoul since graduating from Hongik University in 1959. Awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the institution, he served as the Dean of the Fine Arts College at Hongik University from 1990 to 1994. From 2003 to 2006, Ha was the Director of the Seoul Museum of Art. Ha has exhibited in major solo exhibitions and group presentations at museums and institutions around the world, including the Venice Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, São Paulo Biennale, Busan Biennale, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, the Denver Art Museum, Song Art Museum in Beijing, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, Erarta Museum in St. Petersburg, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Fondazione Mudima in Milan. His works are included in the permanent collection of various renowned institutions, such as the Guggenheim; the Art Institute of Chicago; M+ in Hong Kong; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Hiroshima; Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul; and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Korea.