As the art world continues to reflect on the legacy of Korean modern art master Park Seo-Bo, White Cube New York is set to unveil a profound chapter of his final works. The forthcoming exhibition, featuring his ‘Newspaper Ecriture’ series created between 2022 and 2023, marks not only the culmination of Park’s lifelong artistic journey but also serves as a tribute to his unwavering devotion to the philosophical exploration of time, space, and materiality. These works will be shown to the public for the first time, offering a rare opportunity to witness Park’s deeply introspective process in the months leading up to his passing in 2023.
Executed on archival newspaper pages, Park’s ‘Newspaper Ecriture’ pieces are rich with symbolic meaning. Each piece is imprinted with the date of the periodical’s release, grounding the artwork in a specific moment in time while simultaneously transcending it. This blending of the ephemeral nature of newsprint with the permanence of oil paint reflects Park’s exploration of the interwoven relationship between temporality and the act of creation. His technique of layering and incising the surface of the canvas to reveal traces of time past, especially in his final works, represents a poignant dialogue between fleeting moments and enduring artistic expression.
The ‘Ecriture’ series, first initiated in the late 1960s, is a monumental achievement in Park’s career, one that evolved over five decades. The term "Ecriture," which translates to "writing" in French, was Park's way of channeling the meditative practices found in Taoist and Buddhist philosophy. Park sought to go beyond the mere visual and invite viewers into an intimate, contemplative experience. In the early years of the series, Park famously incised repeated pencil lines into a wet, monochromatic painted surface, creating rhythmic patterns reminiscent of calligraphy—an art form deeply ingrained in Korean culture.
In the later stages of his career, Park’s use of materials expanded as he incorporated hanji, a traditional Korean mulberry paper. This addition introduced a tactile element to his work, as the delicate fibers of the paper would absorb paint and pencil marks, creating a textured surface that blurred the boundaries between painting and sculpture. It was this profound experimentation with materiality that further propelled his quest for the ultimate artistic reduction—an attempt to achieve emptiness through subtraction, simplicity, and silence. Despite the minimalist nature of his work, each piece carried within it a palpable energy, a testament to the artist’s deep reverence for nature and the cycles of life.
Park’s influence on Korean contemporary art is immeasurable. A graduate of Hong-Ik University’s painting department in 1954, he later became Dean of the university, shaping generations of Korean artists. He was a central figure in the dansaekhwa movement, often referred to as Korean monochrome painting. Dansaekhwa, which emerged in the late 1960s, rejected Western abstraction in favor of a more introspective and spiritual approach to painting. Through this movement, Park and his peers aimed to reconnect with Korean identity, tradition, and nature, particularly in the aftermath of the Korean War.
His commitment to this vision earned him numerous accolades throughout his career, including the prestigious Geumgwan Medal, South Korea’s highest cultural honor, in 2021. Park’s work has been exhibited in renowned museums and galleries worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul. His legacy extends beyond national borders, solidifying his status as a pioneer of modern art whose work continues to resonate globally.
The upcoming White Cube exhibition, running from November 8, 2024, to January 11, 2025, will also serve as a window into Park’s final reflections on the interconnectedness of art and life. The exhibition promises to offer viewers a multifaceted understanding of Park’s enduring quest to capture the essence of existence through the simplest of gestures—lines drawn on a surface, layers of paint applied to paper, and the subtle interaction of material and time.
As art lovers gather in New York to witness the unveiling of these previously unseen works, Park Seo-Bo’s ‘Newspaper Ecriture’ serves as a fitting tribute to an artist whose work transcends cultural and temporal boundaries. It encapsulates a lifetime dedicated to the pursuit of purity in form, an unwavering focus on the moment of creation, and a deep respect for the natural rhythms of life.
Through his art, Park Seo-Bo leaves behind not just a legacy of remarkable craftsmanship, but a philosophical journey that invites us to pause, reflect, and find meaning in the simplicity of existence.
Sayart / Maria Kim, sayart2022@gmail.com
