Heralded as one of the pioneers of the Korean Monochrome painting movement (known as Dansaekhwa), Park Seo-Bo (1931–2023) was one of Korea’s most significant early modernists. In the 1950s he was one of the first to introduce abstraction into what was then a very conservative art world in Korea. Park’s steadfast commitment to pushing boundaries and embracing new vocabularies of expression has consistently resulted in new and influential bodies of work widely acclaimed both in Korea and abroad.

Ecriture No. 54-77 belongs to Park Seo-Bo’s hallmark Ecriture series, which he first began developing in 1967. Ecriture began as a series of monochromes in which Park covered his canvas with a single color and, using a pencil or stylus, manipulated the still-wet surface with repetitive, carving gestures—actions that resemble the writing of a script. Influenced by both the aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of Korean calligraphic traditions, Park's paintings incorporated the rhythmic motion and dynamism of handwriting.