Cadenza 2024 Korean Young Artists Series​

​​The Korean Young Artists Series hosted by the Korean Cultural Center is a programme that introduces promising Korean artists to Hong Kong, a stronghold of the global art market, and this year marks its 7th year. The 2024 exhibition will feature 14 of the latest works by three artists representing modern Korean painting: SON Donghyun, WOO Jeongsu, and KEY Min Jung. ​

​​The title of the exhibition, Cadenza, is a classical term denoting a free, unnotated section in a concerto or solo performance, where the performer showcases their skill and creativity, to freely interpret and develop, exploring and richly expressing the existing work’s theme. The artistic worlds and working methods of the artists can be compared to a cadenza, where the artists fully demonstrate their skills within the existing media.​

​​After studying Asian Painting, SON Donghyun has established his position in the Korean art scene through modern reinterpretations of East Asian painting and continues to explore contemporary Korean painting. The work “Travelers among Mountains and Streams” is inspired by Fan Kuan’s “Travelers among Mountains and Streams”. Handling the original work’s grand composition and intricate brushwork, SON boldly deconstructs and reconstructs it to present rich expressions. Each of the ten panels in this grand-scale work employs different materials and techniques. Using traditional coloring and ink painting techniques and materials as a base, he incorporates calligraphy ink, acrylic ink, fluorescent pigments, and various other materials, blending spraying, rubbing, back-painting, and graffiti techniques. SON places materials and techniques, subjects and forms, past and present, virtual and real on equal footing to create novel perspectives and compositions. Through this process, he pursues a canvas that “produces meaning on its own” rather than one “filled with intention”.​

​​WOO Jeongsu’s new series “Three Devils by the Bedside” proves his unique position in the Korean art scene. The “Three Devils by the Bedside” series is an allegorical painting about insomnia, a common modern ailment suffered by many people, including the artist himself. The depression and insomnia are reimagined with the artist’s unique creation inspired by allegorical images and icons from medieval publications. Just as SON Donghyun derives his work from classical ink painting, WOO brings and reinterprets visual images and narratives from medieval illustrations, classical paintings, and character images from East and West to create his works. The overlapping composition, high-chroma color scheme, and use of patterns amplify the cynical yet humorous atmosphere, providing viewers with a wealth of stories.​

​​KEY Min Jung’s work balances the exhibition amidst the colorful and figurative pieces. KEY majored in Asian art and uses traditional materials while proactively using glass as a main medium, creating the artist’s unique artworks. Exploring the relationship between medium and material, the artist noticed the contrasting properties of light and fragile white Korean paper and transparent and strong glass, combining the two materials in her work. The media with disparate physical properties complement each other, creating unique ink paintings. The artist cuts, crumples, and bunches the rice paper with graceful curves and encases it in glass. Viewers notice the weight of the transparent, solid, and cold glass while focusing on the delicate traditional paper between the glass.​