At 89, artist Ha Chong-hyun arrived Friday at a new art center named after him, seated in a wheelchair pushed by his daughter. With frail health but undimmed wit, he said, “Today is the best day,” savoring the rare blessing of seeing a space dedicated entirely to his life’s work while he is still alive.
Located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in a repurposed former building that formerly housed a publishing company, the Ha Chong-Hyun Art Center spans nearly 3,000 square meters over four stories and offers an unprecedented look into the life, philosophy and experimental trajectory of Ha, a pivotal figure in the history of "dansaekhwa," or Korean monochrome painting.
The art center, operated by the Ha Chong-Hyun Art Foundation, showcases not only the artist's extensive oeuvre — from his early Informel pieces to the groundbreaking "Conjunction" series — but also the restless, generative spirit behind his six-decade-long inquiry: "What is painting?"
Foundation chairperson Ha Yoon, the artist’s son, reflected on the significance of the center's opening, slated for Monday.
“This was my father’s long-held dream and he has realized it at the age of 90," he said during a press preview, referring to his father's Korean age. "I feel immense joy that one of his lifelong wishes has come true and even more so that I could be part of making that dream a reality and witness it alongside him. Above all, the Ha Chong-Hyun Art Center is a place that brings together the artistic philosophy he has pursued throughout his life, showing the history and many facets of how each of his works came into fruition."
Upon entering the building, visitors are first met by the artist’s monumental “Conjunction” paintings in Exhibition Hall 1, with a focus on recent works produced between 2015 and 2022. This signature series, which defines Ha’s legacy, employs his signature “baeapbeop,” a reverse-pressing technique in which oil paint is pushed from the back of coarse hemp canvas to the front.
"The hemp cloth and paints reveal their connection and their transformation in connection with my body. They speak to me when I continuously erase and push out the smeared paints. The amorphous images created by the paint pushed from behind the canvas closely resemble nature the most. Art should fully contain its message whilst enshrouding one's talent. We only notice the technical aspects of the art when they stand out. The simpler it becomes, the more challenging it gets. I want to continue simplifying and eliminate, leaving only the essence," Ha once said.
The centerpiece is “Conjunction 20-200,” a large-scale work shown for the first time in Korea after its initial presentation at Art Basel in 2021. A collection of "Conjunction" pieces using diverse baeapbeop methods are combined to one piece, with a crumpled hemp sheet and barbed wire placed below the painting, alluding to Ha’s foundational inquiry into the spatial possibilities of painting, connecting to his earlier pieces.
Exhibition Hall 2 delves into Ha’s earlier works, presenting his Informel period and activities with the avant-garde collective AG, founded by Ha and his colleagues in 1969. These works, including “Work C” (1962), the oldest in the art center, are deeply marked by postwar trauma, modernization and the search for a Korean visual language. Materials such as scorched pigment, barbed wire, springs and concrete emerge as both metaphor and method.
Exhibition Hall 3 covers Ha’s “Conjunction” evolution from 1976 to 2021, showcasing transitional and mature works. These paintings reflect a stylistic shift — from light, diagonally dynamic early compositions to more saturated, texture-heavy surfaces in the 1980s and 90s, evoking traditional Korean motifs such as tiled roofs, earth and thatch. Works from the late 2000s demonstrate how Ha’s interest in color, layering and burning techniques continued to evolve.
The final gallery, Exhibition Hall 4, is dedicated to his “Post-Conjunction” series (2010-), where Ha experimented with three-dimensional elements such as wood and mirror sticks, adding sculptural elements to his two-dimensional works. These works complicate the boundary between painting and sculpture, surface and depth, intention and accident.
The archive room houses not only documentation and photographs from Ha’s career but also items from his collaborations with brands such as Dior and Ladyburn whiskey. According to the foundation, many of the artist’s historical tools, materials and personal memorabilia have yet to be fully uncovered and studied, with more items expected to be added over time.
Coinciding with the center’s opening is the 14th Ha Chong-Hyun Art Prize ceremony. Established in 2001, the award recognizes individuals across contemporary visual art — artists, critics and curators alike. This year’s recipients are Kim Sun-jung, artistic director of Art Sonje Center, and Ashley Rawlings, a curator and art historian known for promoting Korean dansaekhwa globally.
The art center offers viewings by advance reservation for a more private and focused experience.
—Kwon Mee-yoo
