A Pioneer of Korean Hanji Art for 50 Years

Young Sup Han has been a distinguished pioneer in the field of Hanji art and Takbon (frottage) for the past five decades. His exceptional artistic talent was recognized at an early age, during his senior year in high school, when he received an award at the National Art Exhibition of Korea, the most prestigious national art competition for Korean artists. Upon entering Hongik University, Mr. Han continued to impress, securing two more awards at subsequent National Art Exhibition of Korea competitions, reaffirming his extraordinary artistic abilities from a young age.

After college, Mr. Han delved into Hanji painting and the rubbing (frottage) method, a unique form of artistic expression using traditional Korean paper, Hanji. He embarked on a mission to create a distinctive representation of Korean identity through numerous individual and group exhibitions, ultimately establishing a distinctive genre of painting on Korean traditional paper.

Through Mr. Han's innovative endeavors in 'Hanji art' over the past five decades, he was honored as one of the 100 contemporary Korean artists by the Korea Critics’ Association in 2017. Since the mid-1970s, Mr. Han has consistently harnessed traditional Korean materials, 'Hanji' and 'Takbon,' as an original approach in Korean aesthetics and formalism, seeking his own artistic path by using the foundation of 'Takbon’.

For the past half-century, Mr. Han has set out on a journey to express Korean aesthetics in modern Hanji paper painting through the rubbing technique, conducting various experiments that extended beyond the capabilities of traditional Korean paper. His innovative approach included applying Korean paper to round amber stones and developing a technique to extract images through rubbing from a diverse range of natural materials, such as stones, twigs, corn stalks, and perilla leaves. This ingenious method allowed him to capture the very essence of nature, exploring themes such as light, wind, sound, sea, and earth on expansive canvases. After decades of dedicated reflection and artistic exploration, Mr. Han vividly showcased the boundless possibilities of Korean paintings.

Mr. Han's remarkable contributions to the creation and advancement of Hanji painting earned him global recognition through participation in international art competitions. He achieved the extraordinary feat of winning awards at the Osaka Triennale in Japan three consecutive times, in 1990, 1993, and 1996. It is noteworthy that, at the 1996 Osaka Triennale, where 2,075 artists from 100 countries submitted 7,147 artworks, only 24 artists received awards. Mr. Han's consistent success in this prestigious competition underscored his exceptional abilities in his field. Additionally, in 2005, Mr. Han was honored with the Prize of Excellence at the Hyogo International Competition of Painting in Japan, where he ranked among the top six award recipients out of 2,979 artists from 81 countries who submitted 7,992 artworks. These achievements solidify his reputation as a master of Hanji art with a globally recognized talent.

As a pioneering artist in the field of Hanji art using the rubbing method, Mr. Han has played a leading role in numerous highly esteemed art exhibitions, including 22 solo exhibitions in Korea and 8 solo exhibitions abroad. Additionally, he has been invited to participate in 400 group exhibitions in Korea and 80 international group exhibitions. Notably, in 2019, the Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Gallery in New York City showcased Mr. Han's distinguished Hanji artwork, receiving widespread acclaim from the New York art community.