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. In his hallmark Conjunction series, Ha Chong-Hyun 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 1970s in 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.

In Conjunction 97-020, Ha employs khaki-colored paint that has been manipulated using short wooden sticks. The resulting surface is marked by impressions that evoke the artist's touch, a quality noted by critic Nakahara Yusuke when he described these marks as “fingerlike." This interaction creates a sculptural dimension, as the indentations left by the tool result in areas where the paint builds up, adding depth and texture to the composition. The painting process here evokes the sensibilities of sculpture or relief work, where the material itself becomes an integral part of the artistic expression. The exposed raw edges of the canvas, where the fabric is left bare, are complemented by the earthiness of the khaki paint.

80 HO