Kwang yup CHEON

Works of Kwangyup Cheon consist of his pursuit of a surface texture, a tendency in his art that has continued to the present time ever since his appearance in the 1990s. The first thing he had an eye on was the dot. His even-sized dots on homogeneous canvas surfaces remind one of braille: they were sometimes uniform in shape, sometimes irregular in shape, and correspond to an ontological condition. These emphasize flatness by sticking onto the physical background of a flat canvas.
Kwangyup Cheon displayed unevenness effect (凹凸) of dots which appeared in his early works through repetitive action obtained by attaching perforated sheet paper which designed using computer onto canvas, painting with oil colour and grinding. In his early works in early 90s. What he tried was arrangement of homogeneous dots based on module but he made an attempt of symbolization through arrangement of scattered dots which can be found in braille book.
Kwangyup Cheon’s paintings, which reveal literal characters on his paintings’ surface, are the result of an evolution of dots. He scrutinized the matter of perception by coming and going between tactile sensation and vision. This is the experiment of the confused point between tactile sensation and vision, caused by unevenly consisted dots in the picture – an experiment regarding the limitation of human perception and crux. It is also an experiment of existence, and his images contain an extensive art history at the same time. As physical objects these imperceptibly protruding or inverted dots look like an illusion when you look at them from a certain distance. These early experiment became flatter as time went by. His surfaces, which went through the repetitive action of many layers of painting with a wide brush on canvas and sanding down with sand paper, obtain a unique mom-sung ( body quality). Layers of paint formed through repetitive action which acquired by painting with a wide, flat brush and by grinding with sand paper bring about a glimmering visual afterimage in his glossy work.

YOON Jin Sup
Art Critic

Kwang yup CHEON
Born in 1958, Hwasung, Korea

EDUCATION
1987 M.F.A., Pratt Institute, New York, USA
1983 M.A., College of Fine Arts, KyungHee University
1981 B.A., College of Fine Arts, KyungHee University

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITION
2016 Gallery Date, Busan, Korea
2010 Choeunsook art & lifestyles, Seoul, Korea
2010 Gallery Yamaguchi, Osaka, Japan
2009 Kunst-Bau, Tokyo, Japan
2009 Shinsegae Department Mainstore Artwall Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2009 Centum City Shinsegae Gallery, Busan, Korea
2008 Gallery IHN, Seoul, Korea
2007 Gaain Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2005 Gallery Yamaguchi, Osaka, Japan
2003 Gallery IHN, Seoul, Korea
2002 Gallery Seohwa, Seoul, Korea
2001 Gallery IHN, Seoul, Korea
1997 Gaain Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1995 On Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1995 Woong Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1993 Gallery Sagye, Seoul, Korea
1993 Gallery Te, Tokyo, Japan
1993 Gallery Shilla, Daegu, Korea
1992 On Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1990 Ingong Gallery, Daegu, Korea
1989 To Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1988 Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul, Korea
1986 M.F.A. Thesis Show, Pratt Institute, New York, USA
1981 Young Artist Association Hall, Seoul, Korea