a dot, a sky_kim whanki

Commemorating its reopening, Hoam Museum of Art is pleased to present a retrospective of Suwha Kim Whanki (1913–1974), a pioneer of abstract art in Korea. a dot, a sky_ kim whanki looks into his oeuvre of forty years that blossomed and ended in New York.

A painter from a small island, Kim Whanki early on developed his own abstract visual vocabulary, inspired by nature and tradition, and through Eastern thoughts and poetic sentiments, cultivated his unique style known as all-over dot painting. It is a widely known fact that his abstract art found its fundamental formal elements in the moon, mountains, and Joseon white porcelain. But it is also true that his work has been routinely perceived as twofold: divided into figuration and abstraction, or into before and after all-over dot painting. Avoiding such a dichotomous simplification and examining both changes and continuities in his oeuvre, this exhibition suggests his art as a single formative process.

Part I, “The Moon and Jars” presents Kim Whanki’s works from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s, a period during which his artistic vocabulary and aesthetics were established. Part II “Big Small Dot” unfolds his practice in New York, with works that demonstrate his achievement of all-over dot painting through experiments and challenges.

Comprised of about 120 works of oil painting, sculpture, and works on paper, this retrospective includes not only the artist’s major works, but also a range of rare works never before exhibited. In addition, the exhibition features the archival materials and objects from the artist’s collection, such as pottery, painting tools, sketchbooks, letters, and scrapbooks, offering insights into his life and aesthetics on a deeper level.

Part 1. Moon/Jars
In April 1937, the 24-year-old Kim Whanki returned home from studying abroad in Japan. While a student at Nihon University, he also attended the Avant-Garde Western Art Institute, where he absorbed a number of European artistic movements that flooded the Japanese art scene at once, from Cubism to Surrealism. After returning to Korea, he continued to keep in contact with the Japanese art circle the Association of Free Artists, participating in its exhibitions held in Tokyo and Seoul.

In the late 1930s, Kim Whanki discovered a love for Korean antiques, especially moon jars, through close relationships with writers such as Lee Taejun, Kim Yongjun, and Jeong Jiyong who were advocating for a reappraisal of traditional culture. By aesthetically aligning Korean tradition with nature, the painter developed the foundation for his abstract art. Unveiled in the New Realism Group’s inaugural exhibition, which Kim Whanki co-founded with Yoo Youngkuk and Lee Gyu-sang in 1948, The Moon and Tree (1948) renders the lyricism of a full moon’s night with just two simple circles, signaling his exploration into ‘Korean’ abstraction has begun.

Through the 1950s, the moon and moon jars became central in Kim Whanki’s practice. In addition, traditional art’s natural motifs such as mountains, clouds, and birds offered basic vocabulary for his compositions of lines and planes of color that would become emblematic of his abstract style.

Part 2. Big Small Dot
In 1963, Kim Whanki moved to New York with confidence and aspirations to pave his career in the international art circuit. In Seoul, he had become a leading figure in the Korean art scene; but in New York, the reality was that he was an unknown Asian artist facing high walls. In spite of the difficulties, Kim Whanki continued to challenge himself to cultivate his own style by solidifying his belief in Korean art while considering the currents of abstract art in the city. By 1965, his works began to appear much more simplified, with lines, dots, and planes replacing natural motifs. And in 1969, his ceaseless formal experimentation finally gave birth to what would become known as all-over dot painting.  

Kim Whanki once described all-over dot painting as not only “speaking his mind well,” but also as opening a “new window.” all-over dot painting is both an aggregation and a convergence of his 40-year journey towards abstraction, which encompasses his contemplation of the natural world and humanity. It is the universal themes and poetic elements within his art that continue to resonate with us, evoking the question that the artist posed to himself: where, in what form, shall we meet again?

Curated by Hyunsun Tae, Head of Collections, Leeum/Hoam Museum of Art.
Assisted by Kyunghwa Koo, Senior Curator, with Yujeong Kim, Curatorial Assistant, Collection Department,  Leeum/Hoam Museum of Art.

Press contact: Miso Han, Public Relations Team, T +82 2 2014 6553 / miso.han@samsung.com