Chung Sanghwa

[1][2][3] After receiving his BFA from the College of Fine Arts in Seoul National University in 1956, Chung developed his unique grid-like painting style in Japan and France in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In expressing shared contemporary emotions of loss, anxiety, and fear from the ideological conflicts and formidable violence experienced from the war, Chung initially used bold colours and course material, but slowly shifted toward monochrome work during his time at Kobe in the 1970s, later developing his famous grid structures in the late 70s and early 1980s.

[18] With his mother-in-law's encouragement, Chung continued to paint in Paris even after his wife's death until 1992, after which he returned to South Korea and set up his studio at Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.

[15][20] The pattern of the "endless process of adding and subtracting on top of the demarcated surface" is a system that forms a saturated plane and depth onto the space of the canvas.

"[23] He begins by forming 1.5-5.0 mm layers of pictorial surface composed of a mixture of kaolin and wood glue, onto which he carves in 'fractures' by repeatedly folding the loosened canvas.

[24][25] After this, he reattaches the canvas onto the wooden frame and modularizes the surface by cutting out individual squares and refilling them with multiple layers of paint until he achieves the desired texture and depth.

[27] He explains that his works are never spontaneous; rather, they are deliberate accumulations and careful coordinations of temporal sensations, instinctive thoughts, and psychological labour that come together in the form of countless pixels.

According to the artist, blue is refreshing and can express subtle and mysterious changes of shades, while white has a strong presence and is effective and transparent in displaying the content or the process of his works.