Kim Tschang-Yeul first began painting waterdrops in the early 1970s, after he moved to Paris from New York. For the artist, a practicing Taoist, the waterdrops embody the Eastern philosophical idea of “full emptiness”, and reflect the human condition of being at once wonderful and ordinary, vulnerable and adaptable. By suspending time and gravity, Kim asks viewers to celebrate the briefness of water, as well as their own mortality. Kim’s painting practice is also directly related to the traumas of his youth. Born in Maengsan, South Pyogan, in what is now North Korea, Kim witnessed Japanese occupation, the rise of communism, and suppression of free speech during his coming of age.

Notably, Waterdrops (1980) was completed during an era of significant geopolitical shifts that affected Korea, which influenced Kim Tschang-Yeul's artistic development. The 1980s was a time of heightened political tensions, sparked by several events such as the assassination of General Park Chung-hee in 1979, the declaration of martial law and student demonstrations, as well as the Olympic Games. Kim's dedication to the humble water droplet as his chosen subject matter is a sort of meditative repetition--a means to work through both the pain of his past and the political turmoil of that present moment. Through finding beauty in austerity and clarity in simplicity, Kim strives to eliminate ego in order to attain true peace.