Media

Miky Lee (Mie Kyung Lee), Vice Chairman of CJ Group
at the Guggenheim Museum group exhibition

Adrien Brody, Academy Award Winner (The Pianist)
at the Guggenheim Museum group exhibition

Young Sup Han's Solo Exhibition at SWPK Gallery in Manhattan (The Korea Daily, November 20, 2023)

By Eun Byeol Kim

The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery in Manhattan, New York (SWPK: Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery), will host a solo exhibition by artist Young Sup Han titled 'Infinite Relation' until February 10th of next year. The gallery is located at 417 Lafayette Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10003, and the website is www.SWPK.org.

Sponsored by the Donghwa Cultural Foundation, this exhibition marks Young Sup Han's first curated exhibition in the United States and reflects on over 50 years in the art world, featuring representative works. Young Sup Han has received acclaim for his use of traditional Korean materials such as hanji (Korean paper) and rubbings, skillfully expressing the beauty of Korean aesthetics and nature.

The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery stated, "Since the 1970s, the artist has employed a unique technique of imprinting modest natural materials like stones, branches, and cornstalks onto hanji, creating abstract patterns that weave together the traces of various life forms. The abstract patterns represent the time and space formed by the intertwining and unfolding of these life traces." The gallery further explained, "The subtle manipulation of brush speed, pressure, and ink quantity in the artist's work, capturing the myriad forms and combinations, attests to the artist's dedication over the years. The shapes and orderings drawn from the relationship with nature and portrayed through the artist's sensibility are reborn as art."

Reflecting on the humble yet resilient vitality and diversity of nature in the countryside of Gwangju's Jiwolli, where he spent decades, Young Sup Han expressed, "I used to feel nature every day through the morning sunlight filtering through the branches of the large oak tree outside the window, the gentle waves of leaves swaying in the wind, and the golden sunset in the evening. I want to be an artist who handles the transient and ever-changing nature more than fixed forms."

Born in 1947 in Pyeongannam-do, Han Young-seop majored in Western painting at Hongik University and graduated from the graduate school of Dongguk University. He has been actively engaged in the Korean art scene as a hanji painter. He served as a professor and department head at Sangmyung University's College of Fine Arts and is currently an honorary professor at Sangmyung University. He has received acclaim worldwide for holding exhibitions in prestigious art museums, presenting the beauty of nature through Korean expression.

Notably, he gained international recognition by being featured in a large-scale exhibition, 'Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea: 1960s -1970,' at the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, the epicenter of global art, supported by the Samsung Cultural Foundation and others, introducing the horizon of contemporary experimental Korean art.

"Pioneer of Hanji Art, Han Youngsub's Solo Exhibition in New York's Manhattan from the 16th" (Yonhap Infomax, November 14, 2023)

By Soo Yeon Bae

“An invitational exhibition by Han Youngsub (pictured), a pioneer who applied hanji (traditional Korean paper) and woodblock techniques to Western painting, will be held at the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery in Manhattan, New York, from the 16th of this month until February 10th next year.

According to the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery in Manhattan on the 13th, the invitational exhibition titled 'Infinite Relation,' showcasing the excellence of Korean hanji art to the world over 50 years, will take place during this period.

Han Youngsub, renowned for his innovative and excellent works using the protozoa technique based on hanji and woodblock, has been recognized globally for his creativity and excellence.

Until January 7th next year, Han is also participating as an invited artist in the special exhibition on Korean experimental art, 'Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s,' currently held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. [See the article "82-Year-Old Han Youngsub's Challenge on the New York Art Scene... Invited to Guggenheim Special Exhibition" dated August 30th for reference.]

At the age of 82, an age when most consider retirement, Han Youngsub is drawing attention by challenging the art scene in New York, often considered the world capital of art.

In 1990, 1993, and 1996, Han Youngsub was selected as the winner for three consecutive editions of the Osaka Triennale in Japan. In the 1996 Osaka Triennale, 7,147 works were exhibited by 2,075 artists from 100 countries, with only 24 artists receiving awards. He also received an Excellence Award at the 2005 Hyogo International Painting Competition in Japan, where 7,992 works from 2,099 artists across 81 countries were submitted.

The protozoa technique involves placing paper on uneven surfaces such as woodblocks, leaves, or fabric and transferring the pattern of the material onto the paper using media with color. Han Youngsub has captured the essence of nature, including light, wind, sound, and the sea, as motifs on canvas, using Korea's most distinctive materials such as stones, remnants, cornstalks, and perilla stems.

The opening reception for the 'Infinite Relation' exhibition will take place from 6 pm on the 16th.”

“Rich Exhibition of Korean Artists in Deepening Autumn in New York” (The Korea Times, October 25, 2023)

By Jin Hye Kim

“Invitational Exhibition of Young Sup Han: Infinite Relation

A pioneering figure renowned for promoting the excellence of Korean traditional paper art worldwide for 50 years, artist Young Sup Han's invitational exhibition, Infinite Relation, will be held from November 16th to February 10th at the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery in Manhattan. Han is well-known for his use of the "prothoo" technique, based on hanji (traditional Korean paper) and prototypes.

Prothoo is a technique where paper is placed on uneven surfaces such as wooden boards, leaves, or fabric, and patterns are transferred using colored media, creating imprints. Young Sup Han’s artworks capture the essence of nature, featuring light, wind, sound, and the sea, using the most quintessentially Korean materials like rocks, twigs, cornstalks, and debris as his base.

He is also participating as an invited artist in the special exhibition “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s”, held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York until January 7th next year. The exhibition's opening reception will take place on November 16th from 6 to 8 PM.”

"American Museums Keep the Spotlight on Korean Art" (The New York Times, October 20, 2023)

By Ted Loos

“There are at least five exhibitions of Korean art at major U.S. museums this fall. The featured works vary from early 12th-century stoneware to a sculpture made from soap.”

"‘Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s’ Review: Illuminating the Avant-Garde" (The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2023)

By Brian P. Kelly

“An exhibition at the Guggenheim offers the first North American exploration of the loose affiliation of artists who pushed the boundaries of creativity during a tumultuous period in South Korea.”

“While the shooting might have ended in 1953, South Korea was still a land in conflict for several decades. A conflict between the rapid urbanization it was experiencing and the traditional culture that was being lost as people moved to cities. Between the autonomy the citizens of the South had taken up arms to protect and the authoritarianism they experienced under Park Chung Hee’s rule. Between the benefits of joining a globalized community and a persistent distrust rooted in the harm inflicted on Korea by earlier empires. No surprise, then, that such a tumultuous period would provide fertile ground for artistic exploration.”

"The Winds of K-Culture, Now Blowing as an Economy" (Yonhap Infomax, September 18, 2023)

By Soo Yeon Bae

“82-Year-Old Senior Artist Makes a Spectacular Entrance into New York Art Scene

With the declaration, "Are you youthful at 28? I'm still youthful at 82," a senior artist’s audacity has captured the essence of New York's art scene. The protagonist of this tale is Young Sup Han, a trailblazer who has globally showcased the excellence of Korean hanji art for 50 years. At the age of 82, an age when most contemplate retirement, Young Sup Han extended a bold challenge to the heart of the global art scene—New York. The U.S. government, recognizing his extraordinary talent, warmly welcomed his immigration application, approving it within a mere two weeks. His uniqueness shines so brightly that it's destined to illuminate the United States.

Amid the fear instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Young Sup Han resolved to face the challenge of New York's art scene. He believed that spending his remaining days as an esteemed figure in the Korean art community would squander valuable time.

Young Sup Han, always breaking barriers, has never ceased his pursuit of new territories. Acknowledged for his excellence in Western art, he turned his focus to hanji, traditional Korean paper, a medium through which he could encapsulate the essence of traditional Korean beauty.

His daring spirit led him to be chosen as an invited artist for the 'Korean Experimental Art Special Exhibition' held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York from September 1, 2023 to January 7, 2024. The Guggenheim Museum, essentially the art capital of New York and a global mecca for contemporary art, represents a dream exhibition space for any artist.

This special exhibition marks the first Korean art-related exhibition at the Guggenheim since Nam-june Paik's exhibition in 2000 and Lee U-fan's exhibition in 2011, underscoring the museum's high regard for Korean art.

Among the participating artists, Han Young-seop is the sole artist actively working in New York, adding to the beauty of his remarkable challenge as an 82-year-old artist.

Miky Lee (Mie Kyung Lee), Vice Chairman of CJ Group and one of the most significant patrons of K-Culture, attended the special exhibition, offering unwavering support for Young Sup Han's beautiful endeavor. Despite his limited mobility, Vice Chairman Lee personally requested to take commemorative photos with Young Sup Han and his artworks. Vice Chairman Lee meticulously introduced Young Sup Han to renowned gallery directors, ensuring his efforts were recognized to the very end.”

"Under-Recognized South Korean Artists Come into Focus at the Guggenheim Museum" (ARTnews, September 8, 2023)

By Angelica Villa

“During the 1960s, a group of young artists working in South Korea emerged from a dark time. The Korean War had taken place less than a decade earlier, and the resulting unrest paved the way for a military coup in 1961 that brought dictator Park Chung Hee to power. Two years later, Park became president. By 1972, the state was monitoring speech and the media with a sweeping policy aimed at keeping the dictatorship intact.

These artists were making a living in a young republic fraught with tension between North Korea and Japan, the country’s former colonizer.

Reckoning with widespread upheaval, the artists set out to challenge the conservative status quo. They gravitated to video, performance, and installation. Some of these works have gone long unseen because they have been lost, despite efforts to conserve them; others have only recently gained an audience in the West amid a new interest in Korean art and its edgier periods.

A new exhibition devoted to these avant-garde South Koreans, “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s,” just opened at the Guggenheim Museum in New York following a run at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. Its 80 works attest to the tumult the artists faced and the ways their practices mirrored it, and it will appear next at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

“Their lives were responding to this period of exceptional change,” said Kyung An, an associate curator at the Guggenheim who organized the show’s current iteration. “They were their art.””

“Ephemeral but Unforgettable: Korean Experimental Art Is Having a Star Turn” (The New York Times, August 31, 2023)

By Andrew Russeth

“A Guggenheim exhibition shines a light on a remarkable but lesser-known art scene in South Korea that thrived in the tumult of the 1960s and 1970s.”

“‘Youth at 82’ Painter Young Sup Han Takes on the New York Art Scene... Invitation to the Guggenheim Special Exhibition” (Yonhap Infomax, August 31, 2023)

Author: Soo Yeon Bae

“Youth at 82. Age is just a number.

A pioneer who has showcased the excellence of Korean Hanji art to the world for 50 years, Young Sup Han, has now embarked on the formidable journey into the world of art in New York, essentially the capital of global art, at the age of 82. He made this daring move to New York, the de facto capital of the art world, with the enthusiasm of an immigrant. The U.S. government also warmly welcomed him, approving his immigration application just two weeks after recognizing his excellence. The reason behind this warm welcome is his outstanding creativity, expected to shine brightly in the United States.

He decided to tackle the New York art scene during the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone was filled with fear. He felt that spending his remaining days as one of the elders in the Korean art scene would be a waste of precious time.

Throughout his career, he never stopped pushing boundaries and embracing fresh challenges. Recognized for his excellence in Western-style painting, he shifted his focus to Hanji, traditional Korean paper that can capture the essence of Korean beauty, right after graduating from college. His masterpiece was born out of this spirit of venturing into new horizons.

He was recognized for his exceptional talent from a young age in the Korean art scene. He surprised everyone by winning the prestigious nationwide art competition in Korea called 'Gookjeon' when he was just a high school senior.

He never settled for the conventional in his artistic endeavors. He began implementing the Frottage technique based on Hanji and rubbings, allowing him to create unique works. Frottage is a technique in which paper is placed on uneven surfaces like wood, leaves, or fabric, and then rubbed with colored media to create patterns. The term "Frottage" comes from the French word 'frotter,' meaning 'to rub.' He applied the effects from this technique to visual form.

The world recognized his uniqueness and excellence. He was selected as the winner at the Osaka Triennale in Japan for three consecutive years in 1990, 1993, and 1996. In 1996, the Osaka Triennale had 7,147 works from 2,075 artists representing 100 countries. Only 24 artists received awards. He also received the Excellence Award at the 2005 Hyogo International Painting Competition in Japan, where 7,992 works from 2,099 artists across 81 countries were submitted.

He always incorporated the essence of nature, such as light, wind, sound, and the sea, into his artwork, based on the most Korean materials like stones, bark, cornstalks, and wild sesame stems.

His remarkable history played a role in being selected as an invited artist for the special exhibition of Korean experimental art at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, which will run from September 1st to January 7th of the following year. The Guggenheim is recognized as a mecca for contemporary art, even in New York, the capital of art. It's a dream exhibition space that every artist would aspire to venture into.

This special exhibition is the first Korean art-related exhibition to be held at the Guggenheim in 12 years, following exhibitions by Nam June Paik in 2000 and Lee Ufan in 2011. It signifies the high regard in which the Guggenheim holds Korean art.

Among the artists participating in this special exhibition, only Young Sup Han is currently active in New York. This is the beautiful reason behind the journey of the 82-year-old youthful artist.”

”New York Guggenheim to Host the Inaugural 'Experimental Art in Korea’ Exhibition, Featuring Young Sup Han as one of the Invited Artists” (Yonhap Infomax, August 29, 2023)

By Soo Yeon Bae

“A special exhibition featuring leading experimental artists representing Korea will be held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the global mecca of contemporary art, from September 1st to January 7th of next year.

This exhibition, with the theme "Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s," is jointly organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

In essence, this exhibition, taking place in New York, often referred to as the cultural capital, is the first Korean art-related special exhibition to be hosted at the Guggenheim in 12 years, following exhibitions by Nam June Paik in 2000 and Lee Ufan in 2011. This is also an indication of the high esteem in which the Guggenheim holds Korean art.

Of particular note in this exhibition is the inclusion of works by Young Sup Han, an 82-year-old artist who has relocated his creative endeavors from Korea to New York at his age, presenting a challenge on an international platform.

During this exhibition period, performances by artists including Lee Geon-yong's "Snail's Walk" (October 13-14), Neng Kyeong Sung's "Reading Newspaper" (November 17-18), and Gu Rim Kim's "From Creation to Annihilation" (December 1-2) are scheduled to take place sequentially.

Following its presentation in New York, it is expected that this exhibition will continue at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles from February 11th next year.”

"Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s" (Apollo, August 25, 2023)

“The Guggenheim Museum in New York examines a period of profound artistic experimentation and cultural transformation in South Korea. Focusing on a generation of artists who came of age in the decades immediately after the Korean War, the exhibition considers how a tumultuous political landscape and changing socioeconomic conditions brought about a radical approach to material and process (1 September–7 January 2024). The new wave of art, known as silheom misul, broke from traditional painting and sculptural practices to explore innovative and often provocative forms of art including performance, installation, photography and video, which allowed artists to capture their experiences of rapid modernisation and globalisation. Highlights include the mixed-media installation Kiss Me (1967) by Jung Kangja, which sought to unapologetically represent female desire in a conservative, male-centric society, and Sung Neung Kyung’s An Upside-Down Map of World (1974): a map cut into 300 rectangular pieces that are configurated differently for each of the artwork’s outings.”

“The Botanical Sublime: Po Kim, Sylvia Wald, Young Sup Han, Young Hie Nam” (artcritical, the online magazine of art and ideas, May 16, 2019)

By Raphael Rubinstein

“Hanji also plays an important role in the work of Young Sup Han, but with distinctly different techniques and effects. Preferring frottage to folding, Young Sup Han lays his sheets of hanji over a variety of materials, including stones, twigs and perilla leaves. By rubbing ink stick and acrylic paint into the hanji, he is able to create vigorous striated marks that he organizes into dense patterns that flood his often large-scale works…

Among the outstanding works in the show is Young Sup Han’s The Evening Baltic Ocean Number 7001 (2007), a 17½-foot wide ink-on-hanji painting in which the seemingly endless slashes of ink perfectly summon the feeling of choppy waters (one can almost hear the waves) while stopping just short of explicit representation.

Over the last few years there have been numerous museum and gallery exhibitions in the U.S. devoted to Korean Dansaekha (monochrome) painters, but we still have some catching up to do when it comes to contemporary Korean art. Among its other virtues, “The Wind, The Stone, The Sky” is a welcome opportunity to discover the work of two long-established Korean artists whose work deserves to be better known in the U.S.”

“The Wind, The Stone, The Sky” (Monthly Art, July 2019) 

By Suk Kwon Hwang, Managing Editor

“The Wind, The Stone, The Sky…This exhibition could, at a glance, be read as a couple’s exhibition, as two married couples, Kim Po and Sylvia Wald and former Sang Myung University professor Young Sup Han and Yung  Hie Nam. But this exhibition honors an overlapping combination. Four individual artists, 2 deceased  artists, 2 living artists, and native and foreigner…Young Sup Han, filling drawing paper with the rubbing method, showcases work that  vividly reveals a sense of awe of nature that spring froth in places visited, like tourist destinations. In particular, works using the sea as a motif even express time and temperature in detail with their rough lines…Local critics have said that this exhibition provides solace. That it is an exhibition that shows how art can coexist with nature …

Ah! Come to think of it, it seems quaint now that the title of Young Sup Han’s 2012 private exhibition at the Posco Art Museum was “Light, Wind, Sound, and the Sea and Earth.” To Young Sup Han and Young Hie Nam, this exhibition is a kind of proclamation made standing at a starting point. No one can say for certain what reality awaits them, as they take off the clothing of age giving them respite  and solace, abandon the familiar and comfortable palaces, and boldly set out in search of a new environment…As Young Sup Han said, ‘I begin like a baby.’ However, they, who are going to set foot on a new land without dwelling on the result, are not bound by a dichotomous success/failure result. They are merely travelling on a path that they themselves have chosen and, with the ribbon-cutting behind them, they are still there today.”

“The Beauty of Hanji That Couple Makes Together” (Monthly Art, April 2018)

“The exhibition of Han Young Sup and Nam Young Hei, a couple artists who work on various materials with Hanji, is in progress at the Youngeun Museum of Art. It has been 50 years since the two artists worked together in a marital relationship. In this exhibition, you can meet different but Korean style works of art through the Korean paper for the past 50 years. Han Young Sup, who is active in domestically and internationally as a ‘painter of Korean paper and rubbing,’ has devised a technique for rubbing method that uses natural materials to express Korean's roughness and sluggish beauty.”

“Invitational Exhibition ‘Jiwol*SangSang’ Artist Couple, by Young Sup Han and Young Hei Nam”  (JoongAng Ilbo, April 2, 2018)

“Young Sup Han has been working continuously on paintings of large-scale Hanji Art, and he is actively working at home and abroad as a ‘Hanji and Rubbing Method Artist’

He expresses the rhythms inherent in nature on the canvas with a simple and restrained all-out painting style through a series of works that print and float the surface texture of objects. This is his stubborn way of working since the late 1970s. He has a unique spirit of experimenting with Hanji, and sticks to how he uses thick uneven paper to express new texture of Korean paper. Mr. Han has shown the infinite possibilities of hanji painting through decades of his concern.

The aura emanating from his huge works comes from everyday life. The nature he observes and produces such as one clump of grass, pebbles, and indifferent dirt ground, is simple, but his inner world is huge and infinite”

“Hanji Art Couple Gets Along Well Each Other Because They Are Different”  (DongA Ilbo, March 20, 2018)

“Going deep inside, the works of Mr. Han with great scale and powerful lines overwhelm the viewers. Both use hanji, but there are completely different results. As opposed to each other, each side occupies one exhibition hall as if facing each other like talking each other.

Mr. Han explained that he was mainly inspired by the great nature, such as the vast ocean and the huge mountains. “I recently released what I have seen and felt during my trip across America. I have been doing large-scale works, but when I reproduce Mother Nature on a small canvas, I can't feel the impression that I had. I tried to convey my emotion that arises from seeing nature…"

“Showing Korea’s Beauty through Nature Contained in Oriental Painting”  (Asia Economy, September 29, 2016)

“Hanji Painting ‘the New World’ Artist, Young Sup Han Rubs the Infinite Universe from Light and Wind”  (Rich, August 2015)

This article clearly describes Mr. Han’s original artistic philosophy and the thought behind his hanji art painting. His hanji painting has been partially influenced by Lao-Tzu’s Taoism, creating new art world. His hanji painting is explained in the following manner.

“Hanji Painting ‘the New World’ Artist, Young Sup Han Rubs the Infinite universe, light and wind”

The vastness of 'small', its infinity

“The morning sun coming through the window, and the rays of light that were created through the branches, is the beginning of the morning for me. The natural phenomena of this enormous nature, such as the light trembling of the air of the breeze, the warmth of the invisible but clearly felt earth, always dominate my vision. I feel the freedom of line even in the bending of the weeds rising above the snow.”  (from the statement of the artist).

It seems to be a confession that he starts from expanding and fully opening his senses and perceptions in accordance with what he originally had when he was born. If you do not have to do so (inactivity), you will be free and even seem to be disorderly, but you will be able to capture all things with your body and consciousness. Thus, "the same is true of the various forms of dawn created by the waves of the sea at dawn. A group of sunsets and white waves reflecting the light, a roar heard when a rough wave hits a rock, a grand appearance a crack of rockwall made from remote ages, and a layer of barren river cracked by the sun's heat, all of this seems to universe to me” he said.

This explanation, of course, is meant to convey to others and does not add absolute value.

The universe, rubbed based on the five senses and emotions

Nature before the names of the forests, mountains, rivers, seas, etc., were given and the raw universe still exist everywhere in my daily life. And I show universe that I witnessed on the screen through my five senses and emotions with rubbing method. It may be because I know that it is symbolic or embodied through human mouth or hands would not be easy to be identical with the reality of the universe that embraces the inhabited world, the natural world, and the universe that includes the both. It was a meaningful choice for me to put spirit of art on absorbable Hanji that accepts the form of reality and essence.

As the shapeless shape that cannot be described is non-action of doing naturally, abandoning artificiality, it can be a reliable road and bridge to the canvas.

Smallness breeds greatness

He says, "There's a universe in the simple nature I've observed, such as one clump of grass, a stone, and dirt ground.  My work is dwarfed compared to the giant found in the 'small'’ he said. For that reason he said he chose a large-scale artwork. "Only through the controlling the view of man, he is able to convey the shock and impression of the infinity of nature." He explained.

And through the traditional technique of Takbon (means rubbing), a method unique to the Orient, he has stubbornly approached to the topic of being ‘Korean style.’ This is the very sentimental frame inherent in Mr. Han and this is his own perception of interpreting nature.

He uses corn stalks or perilla stalks as medium for rubbing art.

The images of wood grain and rock that used to be utilized often are removed.  Now he tends to use only abstract elements such as lines and space.

Using corn stalks or perilla stalks to change the movement, speed, and force, he rubs them on the traditional Korean paper (hanji) then flipped over and attach to the background paper, completing he huge screen.

"This process is the constructing result of rubbing that is product of complete unplanned and coincidence, in clear intent and plan.  My artwork as a result is the interface between nature and human beings and the irony of chaos and order." He explained.

The most important thing for Mr. Han is the process of rubbing method which is tapping by hand. The simple and heartfelt time of pounding and repeating is Mr. Han’s mind that deals with 'infinity’' in nature. His confessed that “with that humbleness I become one with nature, and eventually get close to Idleness Naturalism.”

Among the passages of Lao-Tzu’s Taoism, there is a phrase that seems to be useful for understanding his perspective on art creativity.

“If I strive to be in the completely empty place and only keep quiet, everything rises up in abundance. I go back to the source of all things here.”

“Enjoy the Elegant Aesthetics of Hanji as Painting” (Korea Economy, July 25, 2007)

By Kim Gyeong-gap

“A sunrise where extinction and birth coexist, the blazing sea of ​​the Baltic Sea, a red apple that feels like leather, a leaf that is elaborately described like a photograph, a butterfly desperately searching for a flower... The sense of beauty permeated into Korean paper comes to life on the screen in elegant colors.

There is a place where you can see at a glance the painting works based on hanji.

This is the 'Hanji Modeling Boarding Bridge' exhibition, which will be held simultaneously at Gail Art Museum in Cheongpyeong, Gyeonggi-do (until September 19) and Twain Tibet Gallery in Utah, USA (August 16-September 13).

The exhibition, subtitled 'Korea-US Traditional Hanji Art Exchange Exhibition', involved 60 works by 18 artists.

It is an exhibition that shows various painting techniques, aesthetic potential, and the possibility of internationalization through works based on traditional Korean paper.

The participating artists are Kim Jung-sik, Nam Young-hee, Park Cheol, Baek Chan-hong, Sinmun-shik, Lee Seon-won, Lee Seung-oh, Lee Wal-jong, Lee Woo-hyun, Lee Jong-han, Jo Deok-ho, Choi Moo-young, Han Young-Sup, Kang Dong-seok, Kim Eok, Son Gi-hwan, Son Gi-hwan, and Yoon Yeo-geol. It is a work that well preserved the nature-friendly sentiment.

Han Young-Sup's rubbing technique on Korean paper and Lee Seon-won's needle work also attract attention.

Hong Seong-mi, chief curator who planned this exhibition, said, "I hope that this exchange exhibition, which contains the spirit of hanji artists' tireless experimental spirit and will to express themselves, will serve as a bridge to promote the excellence of Korean traditional aesthetics to the global market."

Meanwhile, during the exhibition period, the Gail Art Museum also operates a 'Hanji formative art experience education program' for children.

“Along with Papers-2 Paper Artists” (Art World, April 2007)

By In Hwan Kim, Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Board

“Han Young-seop’s main themes during the exhibition are <Light, Wind, Tone, Seas and the Earth>. Since the 1980s, he has shown enthusiasm for constantly engaging Hanji, to be accurate, Dackjongie in the work. As mentioned by a Japanese critic who wrote the name of his painting that was introduced in Japan, it is “having started under the influence of Monochrome abstracts,” and he is known as an artist who ‘produced the work with the paper by hand himself using mulberry bark as raw material.’

Han’s work is not a painting either. His technique can be described as a world of calligraphy or symbolic space, which is woven into a thick and narrow writing effect on top of the texture, was settled with similar materials, such as the application of frottage techniques that are close to traditional rubbing. The thick layer of flexible paper promotes a free fluid flowing in repeatedly drawn overlap one another in a zigzag, or horizontally overlaid with thin lines of wood or blunt lines.

What comes to mind here, too, is a long flowing matrix of elasticity and horizontal flow, with a bright white background and entangled the pieces of stern black strokes. Symbolic shapes arranged on a large screen are spread out in a ringing way that overwhelms the wall of the museum. Just like a master craftsman who has learned from his long experience in the process, the artist’s work seems to have entered an unprecedented matured stage.

There will be intended nature that is not visible embedded in it. It is a symbolic and informal abstract space that compresses the circle of light, wind, tone, and overall seas and the earth. Even though there is light, wind, and tone without substance are so, even seas and the earth must be sensibly perceived here as virtual reality. Even if we do not mention this little fact that it has used the leaves and stones, even corn, and perilla leaves to make a rubbing effect, we can still draw the sense that the artist’s work has a grand nature.”

“Han, Young Sup Exhibition”  (Monthly Art, April 2007)

Copy of the Brochure for the exhibition & Reviews by Chung-Hwan Kho (Art Critic)

“Young Sup Han’s works have explored the traces of nature and the rhythms of the universe revealed in the surface of objects such as woodblocks, stones, and leaves rubbed on hanji. Recently, he has introduced works where corn stalks or a bundle of perilla stems were tied together on the floor, frotted onto paper, and then finished by mounting it again onto a large paperboard.

The frottage of a bunch of dry and rough stalks, from which life’s warmth and moisture have all escaped, does not preserve the form of the original as is like a face cast, but instead reveals a pattern of sharp and dull lines. On a frottage screen the hard, tough properties of the corn stalk or perilla stem meet the elastic paper’s properties revealing an interrupted, connected structure with a clear and strong outline, and this structure is similar to the pattern that would be discovered when the stalk’s minute aspects are observed under a microscope. The horizontally or vertically banded pattern takes an open structure, where it cuts across a vast space and spreads outside the screen. It is the surface of the discarded plants, which no one pays attention to, taking the place of an expansive sea or land. As the intention can be gathered through the exhibition title “Light, Wind, Sound, and Sea and Land,” the artist discovers a universal vastness within dry plant stems, while not overlooking the existence of the sound of the intangible light and wind and sound that dance as they pass through their inner spaces. The light, wind, and sound that pass and project through the pattern’s loose structure are also themselves actors that intervene in the pattern’s organization to give rise to change. The attitude that gathers nonexistence and existence as mutually related, both sides of the truth has its roots in Daoism, and Young Sup Han, in that he takes this as a theme and approaches it from its two-dimensional and

material properties, can be said to be continuing the pedigree of Korean monochromatic paintings from the 1970s. The method of revealing the existence of nothingness by using rubbing craftwork that suspend and record a moment of action in the evanescent nature or truth seems, in a way, to resemble the logic of Daoist negation and paradox. I think, however, that in order for the topic of “letting nature be” to acquire a 21st-century life force, a methodical arrangement of ephemerality may need to be raised to a fresh new level.”

“Big Gathering of Japanese and Korean “Material” Artists”  (Mainich Shimbun ‘The Daily Newspaper April 6, 2007) 

“From Korea are 13 artists, led by Young Sup Han, who is known for his rubbing art on Korean paper…At the artist panel on the first day, Young Sup Han told the audience how ‘there are many things to learn from the attitude of the local artists, as well as how they coordinate with the  land.’ The Japanese and Korean artists both express that ‘the reason they were able to escape the teachings of European art, was the encounter with local materials.”

“Mulberry Paper Art”  (Glinder Zeitung Sachsenwald, June 5, 2005) 

“Dr. Franziska Konerding will be opening the exhibition of Young-hee Nam (Installation) and Young-Sup Han (frottage) …In planning the Korea exhibition, Franziska Konrding placed special importance on the artists also being present. Some of them will showcase their artistic paperwork: “Koreans are born on paper and die on paper.” 

“Young Sup Han, Art as a ‘Stage of Non-Action”  (Monthly Art, March 2005)

“Art as a ‘Stage of Non-Action 

Inaction and artificiality can be thought of as opposing concepts.

Lao-tzu's assertion on ‘inaction’ was due to the diagnosis that the tyranny of people formed in the tradition of Confucianism created the dizzying chaos during the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucianism advocated ‘formed’ (Samskrta), a conscious act in pursuit of purpose, but Lao-tzu considered it an acquired hypocrisy of man.

In other words, inaction is resistance to artificiality and its direction position is the provision of nature.

Thus, inaction does not mean “to do nothing”, but to follow the subtle provision of nature, cut by human narrowness and intellectual error, and to recognize man as part of nature, not as ruler of nature. At this time, nature is not simply visually captureable, but is a cyclical and procedural concept.

Western art has developed perspective, anatomy, and shading methods for visual reproduction through the peak of the Renaissance era. This is the result of maximizing human-centered artificiality, which dominated their aesthetics until the nineteenth century. Western contemporary art is based on resistance to artificiality with basis of reason. Monochrome, which appeared in Korean contemporary art since the 1970s, collectively highlighted the concept of inaction, which originated from the process of integrating Western modernism with Korean aesthetics.

Han, Young Sup's paintings appeared in the variation process that appeared in the 1970s. His original rubbing method seemed to open another possibility of inaction belief (idle-naturalism). Rubbing method as the log tradition in Asia is derived from the combination of paper culture and rock culture.  As to rubbing method, the main object is placed on paper and apply Chinese ink on the top of it, simulating the uneven pattern. Thus, the object is copied in its original size. And the crushed part becomes white and the remaining part becomes black.

This way, even the subtle parts of nature can be seen in their original size, and the simple aesthetics expressed in white and black, make various forms possible according to the conditions of painter¸ depth of ink, and weather. In addition, there is a limit to the number so that it has a unique artistry between print and painting.

Young Sup Han sublimates the effect of rubbing method as an element of painting. First, objects with appropriate cushions are arranged in a line, such as cornstalks collected from nature, and Korean paper with appropriate size of thickness are placed on it, and imprint with Chinese ink and rub them to make a change. As the work progresses, the point gradually changes to the line of nature, and the thin and thick lines expand into the surrounding space, intertwining and immersing in random rules.

And by attaching it upside down on a thicker Korean paper, it makes use of the proper transparency and subtle effect of Korean paper. In the process of doing this three or four times, the screen is transformed into black rock walls like the old granite that went through long wind and waves. And the lines that replicate nature form relationship as if the cells divide themselves and proliferate indefinitely. The relationship is a fractal, the so-called world of “one is the whole and the whole is one.”  

The entire surface homogenized out of the centralized composition leads the viewer to the rhythm and amusement of the sublime Mother Nature out of the miscellaneous restraint of the world.

The particular aspect of his work that attracts attention is aspect of performance. Unlike painting, pounding is more emphasized than detailed description. There may be changes in the way of pounding, but the trajectory of the arm is much less than that of drawing, and it depends on simple repetition. This simple repetition is a great secret to control artificiality, returning the ego to the underlying unconscious. Repetition like a monk beating a wood block, certainly has a superb effect that frees you from complicated thoughts and make you immersed in the moment. Repeating the simple act of pounding, the all other thoughts gradually disappear and move on to the moment here. It is a kind of religious ritual that transform the floating thoughts that glide the past and the future into the present sense.

As work progresses as if a shaman is calling a god, self-consciousness disappears and only the actor remains. In doing so, the pounding subject is transformed. From then on, it is not pounding, but being pounded, and labor is sublimated by dance. It is a dance of nonaction. As a result, the masses of emotions that have lumped in the chest are dissolved by sweat and ejected to reach the state of catharsis. The screen remained is a kind of a stage of inaction.

This work process is similar to Jackson Pollock. Pollock chose to buy paint and spread it from all sides of the canvas. This is a kind of action painting, as Lausenberg named it. The canvas here is a playground for an action and for a one-time event. Spreading is a relatively labor-intensive and fast-paced process compared to pounding.  So the unconsciousness must be wormed up to some extent when starting the work. Therefore, they do not start their artwork until their emotions are elevated. So their drawing is very irregular. Once he starts drawing, he is immersed in his mind as if he is drunk and finishes his work in a short time. Indeed, many American expressionist affiliates, such as Pollock and Basquiat, relied on alcohol and drugs to jumpstart their emotions. If you start your car urgently and brake urgently, life span of the car is shortened. Likewise, these artists’ life expectancy would be decreased. These acts are not disciplines for raising consciousness, but speculation for accomplishing purposes.

All Over Painting Established by Interpretation of Characteristics of Materials

In Pollock's painting, flatness is a unilateral excretion of self-emotion, like masturbating. If his screen is the stage of action, in the case of Han, Young Sup it is the “stage of inaction.” Inaction opens ego, takes nature and proceeds to the state of extreme excitation, being one with nature. This creates synergy effects by respecting and interacting with each other in an equal relationship rather than relationship that one controls the other. Han, Young Sup accepts the characteristics of Hanji while intimately understanding and talking with Hanji, which is rich in water solubility. There is nothing artificial about his work. The stone tablets, leaves, wild birch branches, and corn stalks that he uses as materials for rubbing method are all things that are taken up in nature, and their characteristics are objectified through the rubbing method. He rarely uses colors, but he sometimes prefers dyeing through the materials from nature rather than painting.

This way of understanding art through the will of taking nature or becoming one with nature shows that his approach to art is connected to the traditional aesthetics of Korea. In the meantime, since his exhibition at in Sao Paulo Biennale in 1975, he has won the Bronze Prize and the Special Prize in Osaka Triennale and has received Prize of Excellence at the International Competition of Painting in Japan in 2004 for the 10th Anniversary of Post-Earthquake Restoration. He has been more popular on the international stage than at home.   This is because his Korean identity seemed fresh to the eyes of foreigners especially for the subtle and powerful clunky style in his work, which would have been a strong shock to the delicate and tender Japanese emotions…”

“Co-Starring Korea and Tannan” (Nikkan Kenmin Fukui ‘Daily Fukui Citizen’, June 20, 2004)

“The young artists of Tannan teams up with paper artist that represent Korea to hold the “Young Sup Han and the Tannan Artists” exhibition, which began on  the 19th at the Fukui City Art Museum….This time, the exhibit will be focused on the works of guest Korean artist Young Sup Han. Mr. Han applies ink to granite, corn leaves, and sesame branches and pressed them onto traditional Korean paper, and creates art that express traditional beauty of oriental culture. He also held a talk show…”

“Using Craftwork Materials for Art”  (Nikkan Kenmin Fukui ‘Daily Fukui Citizen’, June 13, 2004)

“The “Young Sup Han and the Tannan Artists” exhibit will open at the Fukui City Museum…This time, we will put the spotlight on Korean contemporary artist Mr. Han, a guest artist who has had a relationship with the Tannan artists from before. Mr. Han’s artworks begin with him making his own paper. As he spreads out the pulpy material, he creates artistic patterns by repeatedly using plant leaves smeared with ink and pressing them onto the paper material… Mr. Han will stop by the venue at 1:00 pm on the 19th to hold an artist panel discussion…”

In 2004, Mr. Kim and 4 other Korean artists held “Exhibition by Five Korean Artist” at the Fukui Business Assembly Gallery. The newspaper in that region described the exhibition and Mr. Han’s Korean paper art, stating that “Mr. Young Sup Han’s works uses the plant leaves, which he pressed and rubs on Korean paper. The way he uses shades and lines are unique.”

“Relationship by Young Sup Han, Feel Our Paper”  (Chosun Ilbo, January 29, 1997)

“Han, Young Sup presents “Relationship” by putting a rough piece of paper on a rugged rock, applying Chinese ink on cornstalks and pounding them repeatedly.”

“Artworks Dependent on Nature”  (Yomiuri Shimbun ‘Yomiuri Newspaper’, May 22, 1996)

“Korean Artist Holds Solo Exhibition

Rubbing Using Plants and Rocks

It has been a quarter of a century since nature and environment became the key words of an era. The year 1971 was the inauguration of the Environmental Agency. This is because we have come to realize that pollution from industrial waste and letting industrialization run freely have become a threat to our lives.

From those times, there is a contemporary artist who has held a solo exhibition that introduces art that is deeply dependent on nature. This is his first solo exhibition in Japan. He is known for using plants and rocks to create rubbing art on Korean paper, which is similar to Japanese paper.

The group of art pieces, which were originally a product of trying to find something that was Korean, seem very simple, but there are aspects that overlap with Japanese elements. Thus, it does not feel out of place at all. The exhibit consists of nine pieces that was made for this venue.”

“Hanji Artist, Young Sup Han Exhibited at Nagoya NAF Gallery”  (Monthly Art, May 1996)

“Han Young Sup (Professor of Sangmyung Women's University, 55), a Korean artist who has only worked on Korean paper Hanji and Rubbing since the 1970s, will host the 11th solo exhibition for the first time at the NAF Gallery in Nagoya, Japan, from April 23 to May 26. . This is the first exhibition that is held overseas, and the works are eight masterpieces produced from 1993 to 1996.

This invitational exhibition was promoted and accomplished by Mr. Kuno Toshihiro (NF Director), who participated in the Gwangju Biennale last year, and Han Mi-ae, who is currently a curator at Jongno Gallery after studying in Nagoya. Oh Kwang-soo, who wrote the preface at the 10th solo exhibition (Park Young-deok Gallery, 1995), said that if the simplicity of ‘Korean paper’ expresses one aspect of identity of Korean art, It is clear that it will be an opportunity to show our unique world of sentiment to the world.”

“Supporters Envision the International as a Major Ongoing Event, Luring Collectors, Dealers, Artists and Art-Lovers to L.A. Just When the Most of the Art World Closes Down for Vacation”  (Art in America, October 1995)

“One of the handsomest of the International shows was the offering at Remba Gallery (mounted by Galerie Bhak, Seoul). Chun Kwang-young and Han Young-sup from Korea both use mulberry paper to make their unique compositions… Han makes black-ink rubbings on mulberry paper of sticks, stones and other objects. While Chun’s work are more vibrant and compelling, Han’s densely worked surfaces provide a quiet counterpoint.”

“Unique Experience…’Hanji Paintings’ of Western-Style Painter”  (Chosun Ilbo, 4/16/1995)

“Hanji Artist, Young Sup Han who has an exhibition with unique artworks using hanji and rubbing method <Kyung Ryun Jung Reporter>

The artist, Young Sup Han (54. Sangmyung Women's University professor) has headliner of Hanji artist. If you say this to an Eastern-style painter, it would not be unusual. The reason that the word of “Hanji artist” is meaningful to Mr. Han is because he is a Western painter.

In accordance with the common sense, he is supposed to use oil paints on canvas. But he has insisted on using hanji for more than 20 years. As it has been attracting an attention as an effective way of revealing Korean aesthetics and formativeness, the public’s interest in his art world has significantly increased recently. Mr. Han is holding an exhibition that shows the latest new works with emphasis on large scale artworks at the Park Young-deok Gallery (544-8481) from 4th to 13th.

The tremendous screens of 6m wide and 2.4m long filled with countless traces of ink, like the rhythm of a grand orchestra and movement of Mother Nature, overwhelm those who look at them. 

"I've been doing this since 72, but I think I am able to understand the material properties and effects of Hanji now. As I don't like the trend of interpreting and evaluating everything with Western standard, I have looked for a way to inherit traditional aesthetics and I think I've come to here.” 

Han's work is based on the use of hand-made large five-millimeter-thick Korean paper as screen and the basic method is to cut and paste countless pieces after rubbing granite or plant stem. Even though I have a job in downtown Seoul, I built a house for dual purposes of residence and studio in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. Living with nature as a friend, he says, "I think it's a simple group of lines, but there are wonders of nature in everyday life and the relationship between nature and me” he explained.

"Hanji is the best material for expressing these themes. Hanji, which has been exposed to the rough fiber of the mulberry tree, has become part of our history and sentiment. It can be said that it has inclusiveness and a feeling of quality that cannot be imitated by Western canvas or Japanese paper. To make use of such Hanji’s characteristics, I use only those pigments taken from nature such as dirt or gardenia acorns.

Mr. Han has been active in the proliferation of Hanji art, including acting as a midwife for Korean Paper Artists Association, composed mainly of Western artists and served as chairman for five years.

His passion for Hanji attracted international attention and he received two bronze prizes at the Osaka Triennale. In addition, he was invited to three solo exhibitions in Japan this year. He is also scheduled to participate in an invitational exhibition at Remba Art Gallery, the upcoming Los Angeles International.”

“Questioning Materialistic Society, Exhibit 5 Artists from Korea”  (Fukui Shimbun ‘Fukui Newspaper’, 1995)

“Young Sup Han, the eldest of the artist, and his artworks are bold, utilizing all shades of ink to overlap different lines in Korean paper. Ink is painted onto leaves from corn and branches from sesame trees, after which they are pressed onto wet Korean paper and layered on top of each other. Lines that are pressed onto thin paper are dark, while those pressed onto thick paper are light. Together, they create a painting with dept. 

The texture of the heavy Korean paper, along with the colors of the ink are vivid. Mr. Han explains that “nature, through the passage of time such as the four season and the time from morning to evening, has many different expressions. An artwork is created through the spiritual interactions between nature.”

Exhibit 2-30: News Article titled “Hanji Artist, Young Sup Han Receives Bronze Prize at Osaka Triennale 93 for ‘Relationship 1992-9218’ on 29th” (Sport Chosun, presumably in 1993)

“Han Young Sup, “Hanji and Rubbing Artist.”  He wins the Bronze Prize at the 93 Osaka Triennale, Japan on the 29th. The award-winning artwork is one of hanji art series, “Relationship 1992-9218” (263 x 467 cm). In this Triennale, a total of 10,003 artworks (104 artworks from Korea) were submitted from 91 countries. Young Sup Han expresses the Eastern and Korean nature with hanji as medium, using inkstick and rubbing method.  “I'm always concerned about who I am. Then Zhuang Zhou or Nietzsche comes to mind. I immerse myself in nature and meet nature.” I exclude thoroughly artificiality and hypocrisy. Pursue the full return to the unconscious.

The artwork of “Relationship~” is not different. It is creating infinite space, or nature, through intertwined, thick, thin, and broken lines. Han, Young Sup finds our roots in Hanji and even the songs of our lives. After conducting rubbing, he is searching for absorption behind it rather than the surface of hanji. Western painting is becoming strange to me, an Asian or Korean native. He fell in love with Korean spirit and philosophy. First, he made a rubbing on cloth of hemp tent. But within a short time he recognized the limits for the material. Naturally, they began to use Hanji as medium, which is more water-soluble than hemp. That was already 20 years ago.

Han, Young Sup's Hanji rubbing work started on wooden boards, on the surface of stones, and on leaves, and has recently led to perilla twigs. Also, as to the Hanji itself, he uses various kinds of materials with different volume and texture. These materials through the rubbing process bring out the characteristics of the unique material and texture. 

Young Sup Han, born in Gaecheon, Pyeongnam, graduated from Hongik University. In the third year of the Sunlin High School, he was selected for Korea Art Exhibition with artwork of “Road Dawn.” He received Special Recognition Award at Korea Art Exhibition with “Near Station.” He used to immerse himself in figuration and sculpture. Currently he is a professor at Sang Myung University. He held 7 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 exhibitions including   the Sao Paulo Biennale, and the Indian Triennale. He left Seoul 10 years ago and lives in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do.”

“Awards and Honors from Abroad Continue”  (Joongang Ilbo, October 23, 1993)

“On the 18th, Han, Young Sup (54. Sangmyung Women's University, Professor of Visual Dept.), a Korean artist who participated in the Osaka Triennale 93, received a bronze prize for his work, “Relationship 1992-9218.” The Osaka Triennale was hosted by the Osaka Prefectural Government and the Osaka Foundation for the Promotion of Culture. It was established in 1990 and holds the exhibition for three sections of painting, sculpture and print. Each year, competition for one of the three sections of art is held. This year, there were 10,030 artworks submitted from 91 countries.

Mr. Han who was also awarded the Bronze Prize in 1990 sets the record for two consecutive awards and received the prize money of 1.5 million yen (approximately 11.6 million won).

The Osaka Triennale award ceremony will be held at the Osaka International Hotel on November 29th and the exhibition will be held at My Dome Osaka from November 29th to December 12th…”

“Hanji and Rubbing, Encounter with Nature, Young Sup Han Exhibition (29 Nov. - 4 Dec. Art Museum of the Korean Culture & Arts Foundation)”  (Monthly Art, January 1992)

By Il Lee, Art Critic

Circulation: Nation-wide. The most prestigious monthly art specialty magazine in Korea

In January 1992, the Monthly Art featured Young Sup Han’s solo exhibition at Art Museum of the Korean Culture & Arts Foundation and his unique hanji and rubbing art.

“Han Young Sup has been known as a Hanji and rubbing artist. He has been working on the work from the mid-70's until today. It's simple but it's sensitive, plain and intimate. It is also the representation of our body temperature, the breath of our lives, that is, the daily life space of our everyday life. 

Han Young Sup tries to revive it as much as possible. Once the rubbing is done, the original meaning of rubbing method is found in the traces on the back of eh paper rather than on the surface of the paper. This also means a more natural assimilation between the image that has been transferred and the hanji’s intrinsic texture.

Coincidence and a perfect return to the unconscious, as the Asian traditional thought it is in line with the world of freedom from all ideas and thoughts and natural inaction.  Rubbing is a way of encountering nature, and it means to entrust it to nature. The rubbing is hand work. However, it is a work entrusted to the providence of nature. This can be regarded as a type of an automatic technique, but for Young Sup Han, the automatic technique is not the simple expression of e unconscious world but the most primitive hand that presupposes the more original act of encounter with nature…”

“The Results of Work with Paper ‘12 Years of Single-minded Way’, Hanji Artist, Young Sup Han Held Exhibitions at Two Places Simultaneously”  (Sports Chosun, November 27, 1991)

Circulation: Nation-wide. Sports Chosun is the largest sports and entertainment newspaper in Korea with circulation of 219,531. Chosun.com is ranked 40th for the most visited website in Korea with 51.10 million monthly visits.

This article describes how Mr. Han became a leader in the field of hanji art, explaining that after 20 years of solitary work searching for primitive nature through rubbing, he was recognized in his field.

“Young Sup Han, known as an artist of Hanji and Rubbing Technique, is constitutionally vegetative. He has been away from the concrete and stayed in countryside (Chowol-myeon, Kwangju-gun, Gyeonggido) for last 5 years, he has worked with Hanji with affection for last 12 years. 

He dares to speak in the 50s of his life as an artist. In addition to showing his masterpieces that have been eagerly attempted at the Art Institute of Korean Culture and Arts Foundation (29th – December 4th), and Gallery Ami in Gangnam will hold the Award-winning at Osaka Trienalle (1990 Bronze) commemorative exhibition from 29th to December 10th. His creative enthusiasm seems to have exploded after winning an international exhibition. 

In fact, he has been doing solitary work for 20 years. His endeavor of exploring the primitive nature through the rubbing of wood and stone pattern did not have much reverberation in the art field. But he was recognized as a leader in the field of paper art as he met hanji coincidently. And the originality of his hanji art began to be recognized when popularity of paper art was spread worldwide. The point of his pursuit is the world of nature, especially, world of “freedom from al ideas and thoughts” and “natural non-action,” which is Eastern idea.  So he was reclusive in nature, used paper as medium as wood is main material for paper. Recently he found object of rubbing techniques in the perilla branches of the garden. He puts a branch of perilla underneath and puts thick hanji on it with rubbing techniques.  His appearance in action doing rubbing work seemed to be in ecstatic state.”

“Art Criticism by Gwangsu Oh (Art Critic), Variety of Frottage Techniques, Young Sup Han Exhibition”  (Hankok Ilbo, June 19, 1986)

“The accidental expression obtained by rubbing paper on a materials such as stone, wooden boards or textiles is called frottage. It was first attempted by the German Artist Ernst and became popular as a new plastic technique.

Attaching paper to a stone and beating it with a cotton bat, transferring the text or pictures contained in it, has been known to us as “takbon” in the eastern world for a long time which is identical method of frottage technique. The technique is the same, but difference is that it did not use an accidental image as the active element of plastic art.  

We recently see, using a lot of these frottage techniques actively on screen.

Han, Young Sup (June 16-25, Baeksong Gallery) has worked on reconstituting wood grain on screen for a long time. In his case, he created the interrelationship between the frottage technique and the composition through the simple figure, trying to develop formative creation with tension. These artworks show the harmony between the gravel as material and the hanji that applied to stone in various ways as the major formative. It shows relationship between harmony and conflict among the materials caused by meeting of two different materials, rather than a frottage technique.

It is possible to regard the artworks as the extension of his continuous efforts in formative art through conflict of different elements. However, I think that it is the characteristics of Hanji that really grabs his attention. This is because I feel throughout his whole artworks that he intends to show the intrinsic emotion of hanji by contrasting it with other materials…”

“Spread Korean Traditional Paper on the Gravels, ‘Art”  (Kyunghyang Newspaper, June 18, 1986)

“Gravels rolled by the river are also excellent materials of art. You can feel art by coloring large and small gravels and collecting one or more stones.

The artist Han, Young Sup’s exhibition that shows his unique way of using the rubbing technique on gravel, recently made headlines. The motivation of Han's work was that he felt the impulse to leave some traces on the appearance of perfect nature like the impulse to graffiti on the clean wall. The production method is summarized as the meeting of Hanji and gravel through the rubbing technique. According to the artist's intention, you can put Hanji on the gravel and color it, and then apply the soybean oil several times. Only the choice of stones is important. Mr. Han said that he had been misunderstood as a stone collector when he traveled for four years to find gravels to mountains and rivers all over the country. Particularly, He went to five time to a creek located in Pyungchang, Kangwon-do… 

Besides ‘gravel art,’ Mr. Han presents hanji art, showing his insistence on achieving traditional art. Overlapping hanji on a sheet of square paper and coloring it with oriental ink or attaching painted hanji already rubbed on the gravel to the sheet.  Hanji is weak in water, so apply soybean oil to preserve it for a long time. 

‘The gravel’s curve line has a soft feeling. While the big one is appealing, but it lacks composition. So small gravels are easier to express formative beauty,’ Mr. Han said. Mr. Han, who majored in western painting, presented artwork of ‘wood pattern” in '76.”