Opening of Korean famous artist Hwang Young-Sung’s solo exhibition in New York

On Wednesday, May 27th, Gallery SHCHUKIN held a VIP reception at its New York branch to celebrate the opening of Hwang Young-Sung’s premier solo exhibition in the United States. The exhibition introduced over 40 works to the American public - produced by the artist over the course of 20 years. 

Born in 1941, Hwang has been one of Korea’s most prominent modernist painters and leading scholars. His works have been featured in numerous solo exhibitions throughout Asia and Europe, and are included in several museum collections such as the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, the Ho-Am Museum and the Hansol Foundation of Culture.

Hwang’s work is distinguished in its progressive development of visual idioms that synthesize various influences ranging from Korean sculpture and Native American painting, to European High-Modernism. In describing the concept behind the show, curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath explained: “The exhibition is centered around Hwang’s grid paintings, in which he reinvents the theme of the grid to tell entirely unique narratives. Moreover, the grid functions as an analogy of the confined structures of power underscoring the writing of art history.” Hwang’s paintings function like visual diaries where personal memories and cultural references are distilled into hieroglyph-like pictograms.

In preface to the opening, Gallery owner Nikolay Shchukin stated, “We are pleased to be showing the work of Hwang Young-Sung to the New York audience. Hwang is one of Korea’s most important artists and we are honored to present this major survey of his work in our gallery.”