One of the most significant Korean artists of the twentieth century, Yun Hyong-Keun (1928-2007) was born in Korea, and received his BFA from the School of Fine Arts at Hongik University, Seoul, in 1957. During the 1960s, he became associated with the influential Dansaekhwa (monochromatic painting) movement of Korean artists who experimented with the physical properties of painting and prioritized technique and process. The scarcity of materials following the Korean War (1950-1953) and the country’s relative isolation from the international art world led the artists to construct their own sets of rules and structures in relation to abstraction.
Yun’s artwork has travelled extensively across Asia, Europe and North America. In 2018, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul hosted a major solo exhibition of the artist’s work that traveled to the Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (2019). His work has been included in the São Paulo Biennial (1969 and 1975); the 46th Venice Biennale (1995); and the Gwangju Biennale (2000). Works by the artist are represented in permanent collections internationally, including the Art Institute of Chicago; Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas; Daegu Art Museum, Korea; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan; Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland; Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul; M+ Museum, Hong Kong; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; Seoul Museum of Art; Tate, UK; and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.