Rhythm in Monochrome: Korean Abstract Painting

Now considered one of the most internationally influential contemporary art movements to come out of Korea, the Dansaekhwa emerged in the ’70s in a country stricken with poverty. Working during the painful post-Korean War reconstruction period, artists such as Lee U-fan and Kwon Young-woo drew on European Art Informel and American abstract expressionism but eventually established a style unlike any other. Finding beauty within emptiness and subtlety, the Dansaekhwa artists were thrust back into the worldwide spotlight after a highly rated 2015 show in Venice, and now their abstract paintings decorate the walls of the Opera City gallery.