Chung Chang-Sup

Axel Vervoordt Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Chung Chang-Sup (Cheongju, 1927 – Seoul, 2011), one of the most prominent artists associated with the Korean movement Dansaekhwa (“single-colour painting”). The exhibition features works from the artist’s forty-year quest to master his technique with tak, a natural material that’s made from the inner bark of the mulberry—a native tree in Korea. Works from Chung’s three most important series, Return, Tak, and Meditation (in chronological order), are juxtaposed throughout the installation.

Chung remembers moments from his youth when soft sunlight shined through paper made from a branch. This paper has an important role in Korean architecture, as it is used for walls, windowpanes, and sliding doors. Because of its ability to control temperature, humidity, and light, it acts as more than protection. Rather, it’s like a membrane between the interior and the exterior of the dual world; the inner and the outer.

To create his works, Chung entered into conversation with the material, which he kneaded and manipulated in such a way that he let his breath, odour, and soul descend, "thus becoming a part of the process itself, becoming one entity with the paper". Inspired by Eastern spirituality and the idea of unification, Chung did not try to address the viewer himself. He let the tak speak to us.