Umber-Black

The dark pillars that extend the height of the canvas in Yun Hyong Keun's Umber-Black exemplify the type of work for which the artist was most celebrated. The composition seems simple, yet the process was long and complex. After adding layers of paint—often applying the next coat before the last one had dried—Yun diluted the pigments, allowing them to seep into the fibers of the coarse linen. According to the artist, blank spaces between the pillars evoke a pathway toward “the gate of heaven and earth.” Yet Yun’s paintings do not depict a peaceful cosmos. They were a sanctuary where Yun could escape anger toward the prevailing injustice of South Korea’s military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s.