"My work is about their result of lots of practice, repeat many times through my life." said Kim Tae Ho.
Kim Tae-ho, a Korean abstract artist known as the "post-monochrome painting", Starting from December 8th at Metaphysical Art Gallery, we present this magical "Internal Rhythm". A well-planned game of color like never before. Kim Sunhee, Director of Busan Museum of Art, curates “Kim Tae Ho: The Aesthetics of Lining” with great care, the solo exhibition of the post-abstract artist from South Korea. At first glance, it is a monochrome that is criss-crossed. The closer to the painting, the more color you'll discover. It turned out to be a semi-stereoscopic work. On canvas, Kim Tae Ho puts on as many as 22 layers of paint before he scratches them over and over to create the colorful grids and the three-dimensional space with irregular beehive, and deep black holes are naturally formed in each space. Those lines in grid, intersecting on another and captivating, highlight the cubic, architectural space as well as the beehive colored bricks on canvas. You shall see what seem to be simple colors looking from afar are actually splendid like spring when looking up close. The repeated process of addition and
subtraction is like religious practice; it also makes the ordered image on the canvas look irregular. Just like Yayoi Kusama with her unlimited dots, Kim’s colors, lines and grids show his crazy, stubborn persistence that creates those images with wonderful rhythms as if they are breathing.
The purest is often the most complicated. Seeking changes in simplicity, and finding simplicity in variety. The process of "filling in" and "scrapping" the colors repeatedly, for Kim Tae-ho, is an ascetic practice, has to calm the mind to the realm of egoless, to find the inner rhythm in the abandonment, and to express the rhythm of life in the dense and fascinating. Just like Laozi's philosophy, being and non-being, whether it is the creative process or the idea, Kim Tae Ho's nihility is just for the rich existence.
It's like a mysterious fault, hidden with changing magical colors, "My work is about their result of lots of practice, repeat many times through my life." says Kim Tae Ho. "The irregular picture is composed of regular vertical and horizontal grids. Drawing a line on the canvas, then, rationally and evenly paint colors and stack it into a thick layer. When the blade cuts 22 or more layers beneath the surface, the hidden colors emerge and become lively and beautiful, as if the batons wave by, the music is vented, and they have both internal rhythm and external structure."
Paintings made of those holes resemble ancient Korean door frames, village stone walls, or neatly woven cloths. This process of repeated scratching on the layers of color creates countless cubic rooms on canvas like beehives, when each room is a micro-world with its own energy. This is life, the mysterious door of all the wonderful. attracting the audience to explore. Before we know, we’ve fallen into this boundless enigmatic web of colors in front of us.
In the recent years, monochrome painting and Korean abstract art have been leading the development of modern and contemporary art in Asia. In the series “Internal Rhythm”, Kim Tae Ho explores the composition of geometric images with changes in layers of color and their complex, intense textures. He hides rich colors under the simple surface, and as he applies layers upon layers of paint he scratches them again and again like religious practice. But “this subtracting process intensifies structure”; Kim envisioned a creative process beyond one that relied on visual operation alone. When the blade runs through the thick layers of paint, it also triggers the more vitality and resonance within the rhythms of the colors.
From the 1970s to the middle 1980s, Kim Tae Ho began to reassemble the order of geometric figures with his particular logic. He would take the image of a female body apart with lines and colors, which would look balanced but actually felt enclosed, with each part independent and separate from one another. By the late 1980s, he began to apply Xuan paper, or rice paper, onto the canvas; would he scratch, shove and rub upon the paper to create works with rough, knitted textures that broke ordinary flat visual quality of painting. In the process applying the paint to the paper, Kim developed a series of work on layered paints that he called “Internal Rhythm”. Echoing the myth of Sisyphus, rolling the stone up the mountain only to see it roll down, again and again Kim would endlessly apply layers and layers of paint, only to scratch those strokes and layers off so relentlessly. But some splendid yet captivating, mysterious bosom within would expose. And Kim would then apply yet another layer of simple, primal color, so that all the little grids intersecting one another would compose countless visual spaces like cells, endlessly extending and multiplying.
The most avant-garde usually comes from the most primal. What Kim Tae Ho does seems ridiculous and tedious; however, between the addition and the subtraction, the void and the filled, the colorful and the monochrome, his repeated layering and scratching displays an aesthetic rhythm of moderation and order. Behind “Internal Rhythm” hides the constant reflection of an artist. It’s like mining, where the miner cuts open the surface in order to acquire the glorious reward within. And the outcome is a painting no longer restricted to the flat canvas but closer to sculpture. Kim Tae Ho employs pure colors and, little by little, piles them into a landscape of his mind, with precise arrangement of all the splendid colors. Each primal color represents a projection, a reflection, and an anticipation. The solid, firm form is in stark contrast with the delicate inner rhythm of Kim’s work, and it is exactly this rich contradiction, this hollow yet concrete existence, that speaks to the mystery of life.
1948~
1972
Graduated from the Painting Dept. College of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea
1984
Graduated from the Graduate School of Education, Hongik University
Solo Exhibitions
-
2018
Metaphysical Art Gallery (Taipei, Taiwan)
Ashlin Gallery (Seoul, Korea)
LA Art Fair (LA Convention Center , LA, USA)
2017
MIZUMA Gallery (Singapore)
LA Art Fair (LA Convention Center , LA, USA)
2016
Date Gallery (Busan, Korea)
KIAP No Hwarang (COEX, Seoul, Korea)
2015
Busan Museum of Art (Busan, Korea)
2014
Superior Gallery (Seoul, Korea)
Gallery Rho (Seoul, Korea)
Kamakura Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
Sejong Center (Seoul, Korea)
1995
Won Gallery (Seoul, Korea)
1994
Gallery Bhak (Seoul, Korea)
1991
Gallery Hyun-Dai (Seoul, Korea)
1986
Gallery Hyun-Dai (Seoul, Korea)
1985
Gallery Hyun-Dai (Seoul, Korea)
1984
Fine Arts Center (Seoul, Korea)
Muramatsu Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
1977-2015
31 times solo exhibitions in Korea, Japan and U.S etc.
Selected Group Exhibitions -
2019
Par dela le Monochrome, Galerie Matignon, Paris, France
Accrochage Collectif, Galerie Matignon, Paris, France
2017
Stroll of Korean Art 2: Dansaekhwa Exhibition, Museum San, Wonju, Korea
Rhythm in Monochrome: Korean Abstract Painting (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Japan)
2016
skyA & C AtelierStory Exhibition, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea
11 Korean Modern Contemporary Artists, Rho Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Out + Standing: Korea Tomorrow, Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
2015
HwaRang Art Festival : Korean Dansaekhwa, Living for Jung
(BEXCO, Busan, Korea)
ACAF 2015 (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
Reflecting on Contemporary Art Korea (S-space Horim Art Center, Seoul)
2014
HwaRang Art Festival 2014 (COEX, Seoul, Korea)
Korea International Art Fair ’KIAF’2014 (COEX Hall B : Seoul, Korea)
BUSAN International ART Fair (BEXCO, Busan, Korea)
The 7th A&C ART FESTIVAL (Seoul Art Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
Annual ART OF HAMPTONS (the Art Hampton Sculpture Fields of Nova's Ark : USA)
2013
SamTam Art Mine Museum Opening Memorial Exhibition (CAM Art Museum, Gangwon-do, Korea)
Seoul ART SHOW 2014 (Setec Seoul Trade Exhibition & Convention Center, Seoul, Korea)
ART SHOW BUSAN 2013 (BEXCO, Busan, Korea)
Same Generation Exhibition (Shema art Museum, Cheongju, Korea)
2013 Korea International Art Festival (Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, Korea)
2012
Korean Dansaekhwa (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon) 12 Festival International De Las Artes Costa Rica Korean (Modern Art Razos De Corea) 20 Monochrom in Korea (Galerie Dorothea van der Koelen, Germany) The Art Exhibition ‘Artistic Period’ (Interalia Art Space Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
2011
MASTEPICE’S EXHIBITION IN AUTUMN Jeon Book MUSEUM OF ART (Jeonbuk Province Art Museum,Jeonbuk, Seoul, Korea)
11th Contemporary Art Fair of Korea (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
The 26th Asian Modern Art Exhibition (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
‘MANIF 20’2014 SEOUL INTERNATIONAN ART FAIR (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
2010
Korea Internation Art Fair ’KIAF’ (COEX, Seoul, Korea)
Fnnews Art Festival (SaeJong Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
The 25th Asian Modern Art Exhibition (Sukbaatar Square-3 Central Culture Place B Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia)
ART2010 EXHIBITION (Danwon Exhibition Hall, Ansan, Korea)
G20 World Artist Festival (Korean Press Center, Seoul, Korea)
G20 Seoul Summit Celebration Exhibition For The Korean Fine Arts (The Korean National Assembly, Shuim Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea)
2009
Korean Monochrome Painting (Wellside Gallery, Korea)
Invited Exhibition of Korean National Artist ‘TODAY’ (SaeJong Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
Artist 8 Contemporary Art of Korea (Park-Young Gallery, Paju, Korea)
Europ Art 2009 Geneve (Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland)
2009 International Art Fair in Busan (Busan Art Center, Busan, Korea)
The 9th Exhibition of Korean Contemporary Art (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
ART ASIA BASEL (Sportplatz landhof, Switzerland)
SCOPE Basel ArtShow (Sportplatz landhof, Switzerland)
‘The Spectrum’ Art Exhibition (SaeJong Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
Contemporary Art of VISION 2009 (SaeJong Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
Seoul Modern Art Show (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
The 24th Asian Modern Art Exhibition (National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Lineart, The Art Fair (Flanders International Trade Fair, Belgium)
2008 Art in Busan 2008 (Busan Museum of Art, Busan, Korea)
Korean Abstract Painting 1958~2008 (Seoul Museum of Art, Korea)
Korea of the Kukmin Newspaper Foundation (SaeJong Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
17th Amme'Europ' Art 2008 (Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland)
Artist 9 Contemporary Art of Korea (Gallery Rho, Seoul, Korea)
2008
Art in Busan 2008 (Busan Museum of Art, Busan, Korea)
Korean Abstract Painting 1958~2008 (Seoul Museum of Art, Korea)
Korea of the Kukmin Newspaper Foundation (SaeJong Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
17th Amme'Europ' Art 2008 (Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland)
Artist 9 Contemporary Art of Korea (Gallery Rho, Seoul, Korea)
2007
2007 Art Star 100 (the Indian Ocean, COEX, Seoul, Korea )
Exhibition of Korea / Japan Contemporary Paintings (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan)
The World Artist Festival in 2007 (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
Vine Art26 Art Fair Flanders Expo (Gent, Belgium)
2006
Chicago Art Fair 2006 (Butler Field Chicago, U.S.A)
2005
Chicago Art Fair 2005 (Butler Field, Chicago, U.S.A)
2005 Toronto International Art Fair (Toronto, Canada)
2004
The 1st China International Gallery Exposition (China International Technology & Science Exposition Center, Beijing, China)
2003
The 3rd Korean Contemporary Art Festival (Seoul Arts Center Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
2002
The Understanding of Abstract Painting (Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
2001
The 16th Asian International Art Exhibition (Guang-Dong Museum Art, China)
2000
Plane as Spirits (Busan Municipal Museum of Modern Art, Busan, Korea)
Gwangju Biennale 2000, The Special Exhibition (Gwangju Municipal Museum of Art, Gwangju, Korea)
1999
The 14th Asian International Art Exhibition (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan)
1998
2000 Spirit Exhibition, Daejeon City Establish Art Museum Memorial Exhibition (Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art, Daejeon, Korea)
1997
Korean Contemporary Art Exhibition (Mall Galleries, London, UK)
1996
The 11th ASIAN International Art Exhibition (Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines)
1995
MANIF Seoul 95 International Art Fair (Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea)
Confrontation of Cement & Art, Sungkok Art Museum Opening Memorial Exhibition (Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
1994
Seoul International Art Festival (National museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea)
1993
40 Years of the Korean Contemporary Print (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea)
International Biennale of Graphic Arts (National Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia)
12 Artists Exhibition of the Korean Contemporary Art (Miyakihyun Museum, Japan)
1992
The Great Exhibition of Contemporary Printing (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea)
Contemporary Art Festival 92 (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea)
Kasama Nichido Museum of Art Foundation (Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Japan)
Korean Contemporary Painting (Ho-Am Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1991
Contemporary Korean Painting (Ho-Am Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1990
The 8th Osaka Contemporary Art Fair 90 (Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Japan)
90 Contemporary Korean Art Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1989
1989 Modern Korean Painting (Ho-Am Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1988
Modernism in Korean Art (Hyundai Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1987
87 Seoul Art Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1986-2005
Seoul Art Exhibition (Seoul, Korea)
1986
Asian Modern Art Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
Korean Modern Art Exhibition : It’s Yesterday and Today (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
Japan / Korea Print Exchange Exhibition (Simonosheki Museum, Japan)
TRACE 86 BIENNALE D'ESTAMPE CONTEMPORAINE PARIS (Paris, France)
1985
85 Modern Art International Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
The Yesterday and Today of Korean Modern Printmaking (Ho-Am Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1984
Korean Modern Art Exhibition, A Phase of the Late 1970s (Art Center of the Korea Culture & Arts Foundation, Seoul, Korea)
1983
83 Invitational Modern Art Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1982
The State of Korea Modern Art Exhibition (Tokyo, Japan)
Exhibition of Korea / Japan Contemporary Paintings (Fukuoka museum of art, Japan)
1981-1990
Exhibition of Korea / Japan Contemporary Paintings
1081
Young Artists Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
KOREAN DRAWING NOW (The Brooklyn Museum New York, U.S.A)
The 3rd Seoul International Print Biennale by Dong-A Ilbo (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
Juried Invitational Art Exhibition sponsored by the Seoul Shinmun (Lotte Art Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1980
The 12th Cagnes-sur-Mer International Painting Exhibition (Cagnes-sur-Mer, France)
Korean Print & Drawing Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1979
The 6th British International Print Biennale (Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, England)
1978
Korean Modern Art & Sculpture Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1977
Korean Modern Painting Invitational Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1976-1999
Ecole de Seoul (Seoul, Korea)
1975
The 11th Asian Modern Art Exhibition (Ueno Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
1974
The 1st Seoul Biennale (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1973
The 1st Exhibition of the 20th Age Modern Artists’ Association (National Central Information Hall, Seoul, Korea)
1972
The First Exhibition of Esprit Group (National Central Information Hall, Seoul, Korea)
Awards -
2003
Awarded a Grand Prize at the 2nd Buil Art (Busan, Korea)
1995
Awarded an Origin Art Prize (Seoul, Korea)
1986
Awarded a Grand Prize at the 5th Seoul International Print Biennale (Seoul, Korea)
1984
Awarded the 3rd Art Writer’s Prize (Seoul, Korea)
1982
Awarded a Grand Prize at the Space International Print Exhibition (Seoul, Korea)
1980
Awarded a 'Frontier' First Prize at the 7th Korean Art Exhibition by the Han-Kuk Ilbo (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1977
Awarded a Gold Prize at the 13th Korea Art Association Exhibition (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1976
Awarded a Special Prize at the 3rd Korean Art Exhibition by the Han-Kuk Ilbo (National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)
1971
Awarded a Gold Prize (Ministry of Culture & Information) at Korea Print Exhibition (Seoul, Korea)
1968-1981
Awarded a Prize by the Minister of Culture and Information at the 22nd & the 27th National Art Exhibition (Seoul, Korea)
Awarded a Special Selection - 5 times National Art Exhibition (Seoul, Korea)
Awarded a Selection - 7 times National Art Exhibition (Seoul, Korea)
1968
Awarded an Honorable Mentoin at the 7th Young Artists Art Exhibition (Sponsored by Ministry of Culture and Information, Seoul, Korea)
Museum Collections -
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea
The British Museum, London, England
Daejeon Municipal Museum of Art, Daejeon, Korea
Busan Municipal Museum of Art, Busan, Korea
Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Yonsei University Museum, Seoul, Korea
Walker Hill Museum, Seoul, Korea
Total Museum, Seoul, Korea
Simonoseki Museum, Simonoseki, Japan
Ho-Am Art Museum, Yongin, Korea
Hongik University Museum, Seoul, Korea
Gyeongnam Art Museum, Changwon, Korea
Museum SAN, Kangwondo, Korea
Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China
