Kwon Young-Woo first began to experiment with Korean hanji paper in the early 1960s, discarding his past methods of drawing and mark-making to fully embrace a new method of creation that molded pure physical substance out of the surface itself. Kwon’s methods eschew the conventions of the Western canvas as well as a traditional Eastern ink brush practice. Instead, his work is created by layering sheets of hanji paper, which are then punctured, scratched, and torn using dynamic motions reminiscent of post-war Gutai artists in Japan. Although the materiality of his work is rooted in a Korean artistic legacy, his manipulation of these traditional materials is experimental and innovative, highlighting the unique dimensionality of hanji.

50 HO