Conjunction 23-09 is part of Ha Chong-Hyun’s hallmark Conjunction series, in which he pushes thick paint through the back of his loosely woven hemp canvases, creating a texture that is entirely unique to Ha’s practice. The term “conjunction” references the unmediated meeting of the two most important elements of the artist’s physical practice - his method and his materials, and has been a decades-long project for the artist. Ha Chong-Hyun first began making his Conjunction paintings in the 1970s in Post-War Korea, where his use of hemp, a functional fabric used to transport goods throughout the war and reconstruction, distinguished his work from the traditional Western canvas. Ha Chong-Hyun was a pioneering member of the Korean Dansaekhwa, or “Monochrome”, movement, and has spent his career engaging with discourse around institutional critique and advocating for the young Korean avant-garde.