Ha Chong-Hyun is a pioneering member of the Korean Dansaekhwa, or “Monochrome painting,” movement, dedicating his career to engaging with and advocating for the Korean avant-garde. For his renowned Conjunction series, Ha pushes thick paint through the backs of loosely woven hemp canvases, creating a textured surface that is entirely unique to his practice. The term “conjunction” signifies the unmediated meeting of the artist’s two most important elements–his method and his materials–and has been a decades-long project. Ha first began making his Conjunction series in the 1974, in the midst of post-war Korea, where his use of hemp--a robust material commonly used for transporting goods during the war and subsequent reconstruction--distinguished his work from the traditional Western canvas.