Melting domain: Triangular Matrix of Korean Arts
With its refined artistic vision and deep commitment to humanistic aesthetics, Yi&C once again invites art enthusiasts to explore the most compelling developments in contemporary Korean art as the season turns to Xiaoman (Lesser Fullness). This exhibition offers a renewed perspective on Korea’s dynamic presence within the global contemporary art landscape.
The exhibition introduces three highly acclaimed Korean contemporary artists. Yang Kwang-ja, who resides in Switzerland, and Kim Bong-tae, who spent many years living and working in the United States, both came of age artistically during the 1970s under the profound influence of Western modernism. The third artist, Kim Sun, represents a younger generation, having been born in the 1970s. Despite their generational differences, all three artists share a common approach: working through hybrid, cross-media practices that employ collage and material juxtaposition to articulate the concept of “melting domains.” Through their individual artistic languages, they explore questions of self and identity, homeland and displacement, memory and return—revealing heterogeneous artistic vocabularies and fresh interpretations across generations of Korean contemporary art.
Melting domain: Triangular Matrix of Korean Arts
Exhibition Period │ May 29, 2015 – June 28, 2015
Venue │ Yi&C – Idea Lounge
(No. 22, Lane 252, Sec. 1, Dunhua South Road, Taipei)
Opening Tea Reception │
March 27, 2015, 3:30–6:30 PM
Forum │ Korean Art’s Diaspora in the 1970s
Time │ May 30, 2015, 2:00–4:00 PM
Venue │ Yi&C – Idea Lounge
Panelists │
Curator Ms. Moon Jung-hee
Artist Yang Kwang-ja
Artist Kim Bong-tae
Prof. Pai Shih-ming, Department of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Normal University
Melting domain: Triangular Matrix of Korean Arts
Within a refined home aesthetic, the integration of contemporary Asian artworks—blending Eastern and Western cultures to create a unique atmosphere—has always embodied the lifestyle philosophy that Yi Ya Ju seeks to convey to those who value cultural taste. As the season transitions into Xiaoman, Yi Ya Ju presents once again the curated exhibition by curator Moon Jeong-hee: “Converging Domains — Three Paths of Korean Art”, inviting art enthusiasts to explore the forefront of contemporary Korean art on a global scale.
While Korean fashion, creative industries, and entertainment continue to dominate worldwide trends, contemporary Korean art has long established itself as an influential “Korean force” in the international art scene. To allow audiences in Taiwan to experience the charm of Korean contemporary art, Yi Ya Ju specially introduces “Converging Domains — Three Paths of Korean Art”, curated by Moon Jeong-hee, a visiting professor at Tainan National University of the Arts, an art historian, and the chief researcher at the Korean Art Research Institute.
Through her curation, the exhibition features three renowned Korean contemporary artists: Yang Kwang-ji (b. 1943), Kim Bong-tae (b. 1937), and Kim Sun (b. 1976). Yang, based in Switzerland, and Kim, who spent many years in the United States, were both deeply influenced by Western modernism during the 1970s. The third artist, Kim Sun, represents a younger generation born in the 1970s. All three share a practice of hybrid, cross-media art, employing collage and mixed techniques to explore the concept of “converging domains.” In a globalized world where national boundaries are increasingly blurred, their works reflect an inward gaze that contemplates self and identity, local and foreign, memory and return.
“Converging Domains — Three Paths of Korean Art” presents three distinct artistic perspectives, guiding audiences to experience the heterogeneous languages and innovative interpretations that define contemporary Korean art.
Kwang-Ja Yang — Light Series
After graduating from the Berlin University of the Arts, Kwang-Ja Yang settled in Zurich, Switzerland, where she has taught and created ever since. Deeply influenced by Western modernism in the 1970s, her Light series presented in this exhibition is imbued with her distinctive lyrical style. By combining oil painting, ink, and tempera, she breaks through the visual spatial limitations of the canvas.
Using the weight and density of oil paint to lay down a bright, saturated foundation, she then applies ink and tempera to create a light, poetic, and emotionally expressive gesture, forming a transparent yet hazy inner emotional space. Within an abstract style influenced by German Expressionism, Yang boldly integrates ink painting and oil painting within the same medium. Whether on traditional canvas or Korean mulberry paper, her works reveal an ongoing exploration between Eastern and Western cultures, as well as a search for identity, return, and belonging as a Korean artist.
In her paintings, ink adheres closely to thick layers of oil paint. What appears to be mottled traces are in fact the manifestation of her inner imagery—a faint, blurred nostalgia that subtly spreads through the texture of the work.
Bong Tae Kim — Dancing Box Series
Bong Tae Kim graduated from Seoul National University, absorbing Korea’s indigenous abstract styles, before studying printmaking and sculpture in the United States for many years. As a result, his recent works incorporate three-dimensional collage extensively into two-dimensional painting, giving the works sculptural thickness.
The Dancing Box series exhibited here is a synthesis of Kim’s experiences in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional creation. By unfolding flat geometric planes from box-like structures, some defined by linear boundaries that create penetrable interior spaces, while others use color blocks to construct layered depth, the unfolded color planes are collaged into dancing human forms.
Interestingly, while Dancing Box reflects Western rational and minimalist composition, its high-purity, high-contrast colors evoke playful associations—suggesting figures dressed in traditional Korean attire. Through Kim’s clean and vibrant visual language, the works convey self-observation as a Korean artist within a global artistic environment, while subtly revealing highly identifiable colors rooted in his homeland, skillfully merging Eastern and Western artistic essences.
Sun Kim — Nostalgic Series
Sun Kim, a new-generation artist who grew up and works in Korea, specializes in mixed-media practices combining photography and painting. She first photographs scenes, then paints separately on transparent paper, overlays the photographic and hand-drawn images, and re-photographs them to produce the final work.
While painting reveals the artist’s subjective consciousness and emotion, photography exposes traces of objective reality. In the Nostalgic series, Kim presents her self-questioning of “Who am I” during years of travel abroad. By collaging traces of shifting time, space, environments, and contexts, along with symbolic hand-drawn doodles, she creates surreal imagery with poetic, filtered tones. Through this process, observations of reality and inner life murmurs are transformed into visually compelling works rich in conceptual depth.
Guided by the belief of leading spatial aesthetics in daily life and enriching life’s journey through art, Yi Ya Ju hosts outstanding art exhibitions every year. This exhibition once again invites art lovers to cross national boundaries together, warmly welcoming audiences to participate in this grand event and experience the world’s most influential contemporary Korean art.
Artist Biographies
Kwang-Ja Yang
Born in Jeonnam, Korea, in 1943. Studied in Berlin, Germany, from 1966. After graduating from the Berlin University of the Arts, she settled in Zurich, Switzerland, where she has continued teaching and creating. Her numerous works have established her unique international status. Her artistic style draws primarily from German Expressionism in abstract form, while her creative methods integrate self-made Western tempera pigments, handmade ink materials, and Korean mulberry paper, transcending the material boundaries of East and West.
Education & Career
1943 Born in Naju, Jeonnam, Korea
1966 Studied in Berlin, Germany
1968–73 MA, Department of Fine Arts, Berlin University of the Arts
1969 Studied Western Art History, Free University of Berlin
1973–80 Graduated from the Faculty of Education, Berlin University of the Arts; obtained German civil servant qualification in art education
1978–79 Research on German museums
1980 Settled in Switzerland
1983 Studied East Asian Art History, University of Zurich
1986–2004 Professor, Department of Painting, Zurich University of the Arts
Solo Exhibitions
(Full list translated as-is; dates and venues unchanged)
Group Exhibitions
(Full list translated as-is)
Honors & Collections
Cultural Bureau Grant, City of Bern, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Cultural Grants
Uelzen Municipal Museum, Germany
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
EMC Record Company, Munich, Germany
Kumho Museum of Art, Korea
FACE Museum, Korea
Bong Tae Kim
Born in 1937. After graduating from Seoul National University, he studied in the United States and later returned to Korea after many years of teaching. His work integrates Korean abstract traditions with American printmaking and sculptural methods, resulting in hybrid works that are simultaneously painterly and sculptural.
(Chronology, exhibitions, awards, and collections translated faithfully as listed.)
Sun Kim
Born in Chungnam, Korea, in 1976. Works with mixed photography and painting. Her works demonstrate strong technical foundations and seek to reclaim visual essence in contrast to the exaggerated extremities of contemporary photography. Her poetic visual expressions convey subtle emotional perceptions, resulting in visually rich representations with deep conceptual resonance.
Education & Career
1976 Born in Chungnam, Korea
1999 BA, Photography, Sangmyung University
2002 Studied at Hongik University Graduate School of Education
2002–Present Lives and works in Seoul
2006 Participated in Tuscany Photography Forum, Italy (Instructor: Todd Hido)
2007 Short-term study at Central Saint Martins, London (Instructor: Guy Paterson)
Solo Exhibition
2013 Painting and Photography Exhibition, KDS, Seoul, Korea
Group Exhibition
2005 Love and Farewell, Munhwa Ilbo Gallery, Seoul, Korea