In December 2010, as to welcome the end of the year, Johyun Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Park Seo-Bo.

Leading the avant-garde movement after the liberation of Korea in 1945, Park has been the most important figure respected as the pioneer of modern art in Korea. Following the years of 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2006, Johyun Gallery Busan is presenting another solo exhibition of Park Seo-Bo to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Johyun Gallery and also the sixtieth anniversary of Park’s career as an artist.

In the exhibition, new works of Ecriture, the series Park has been continuously expanding since 1960s, are introduced. Ecriture references the word “écriture,” which means “writing” in French, and refers to a process of drawing a line as if one were writing. The artist compares the act of drawing lines repeatedly on a canvas to a Buddhist chanting its prayer in the means of emptying one’s self. This work of contemplation became more subtle and intricate as Park began to use Korean hanji paper in 1980s. He first places down layers of hanji on a canvas using gel medium, wets the surface with water-based pigments, and draws-writes-in a linear direction with a thick pencil or his own fingers to create carved lines. This gradual process brings a quality of meditation which requires time and persistence.

To the person who has been working over fourteen hours per day, following his rigorous work ethic for more than half a century, this poetic work of silence is a battle. The reason why Park is considered as the power of Korean art at his age of eighty is because of his impassioned demand for challenge. Through the exhibition, one will be able to enjoy the recent footsteps of Park Seo-Bo’s-a living master of modern art-sixty year career.