‘Hearts Inclined to Ink’ brings together mountain studies, ink landscapes and scenery constructed from written characters

Kyobo Art Space in central Seoul is presenting Hearts Inclined to Ink, an exhibition examining how traditional East Asian landscape painting continues through contemporary observation and artistic practice.

The exhibition opened on Nov. 3 at Kyobo Art Space inside Kyobo Book Centre’s Gwanghwamun branch and runs through Dec. 13. It presents 25 works by Han Jin-man, born in 1948, Yoo Seung-ho, born in 1974, and Jin Hee-ran, born in 1990.

Han and Jin have both developed their landscapes through direct encounters with nature. Their works draw on observations made while walking through mountain ranges including Bukhansan, Jirisan, Seoraksan and Geumgangsan.

Han, a professor emeritus of Oriental painting at Hongik University, considers empty space, spatial depth and the handling of line and ink central to expressing the internal qualities of a subject. His work moves beyond recording visible scenery to focus on conveying vitality through the relationship between brushwork and unpainted areas.

One of Han’s featured works, The Song of Keum-Gang, was created in 2007 with ink on hanji. Thick and thin ink lines establish the contours of the rocky mountains, while open spaces between the peaks create distance and depth.

Jin follows a method associated with painters of the Joseon Dynasty, visiting mountains to compare the actual landscape with descriptions and images encountered in books. As she climbs, the changing field of vision reveals peaks, valleys and paths from different positions.

For Jin, the journey along a mountain trail leaves a stronger impression than the brief moment of reaching the summit. These accumulated views and memories are reconstructed as what she describes as a “mountain of the mind.”

Her 2026 work Eungbi Gongcheong, made with ink and light colour on sunji paper, is included among the exhibition’s principal works. Layers of mountain peaks and mist fill the composition, with a bird appearing between them.

Yoo approaches landscape through written language. Drawing on his study of Northern Song Dynasty landscape painting, he has developed a form of “text landscape” in which repeated letters and words accumulate to construct an image.

His works often incorporate onomatopoeic and mimetic expressions. The meanings of the individual words do not necessarily correspond to the landscapes they form, creating a tension between reading the text and viewing the image as a whole.

The method also allows Yoo to examine divisions between traditional painting and doodling, as well as between tools such as brushes and pencils. The exhibition includes yodeleheeyoo~, a 2007 ink-on-hanji work.

The exhibition’s Korean title carries two related meanings. It suggests a heart inclined toward East Asian painting while also referring to giun saengdong—a traditional concept concerned with the transmission of spirit, vitality and movement in painting.

The term originates from the first of the Six Principles of Chinese painting proposed by the critic Xie He in the Record of the Classification of Old Painters. It places importance not only on reproducing the external appearance of a subject but also on communicating its internal energy.

By bringing together three artists from different generations, Hearts Inclined to Ink allows viewers to compare how observation, memory, written language and ink can each produce a contemporary landscape.

The exhibition runs through Dec. 13 at Kyobo Art Space in Kyobo Book Centre’s Gwanghwamun branch. Admission is free.

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Maria Kim sayart2022@gmail.com