This exhibition explores the diverse ways colour is expressed in contemporary Korean art through the materials and artistic methods used by participating artists, while drawing a connection to the traditional Korean concept of saekdong.

Traditionally used in children’s clothing, saekdong refers to the arrangement of multiple contrasting colours in repeated patterns, creating a vivid visual rhythm. Taking this concept as a point of reference, the exhibition examines how contemporary artists employ different materials and processes to produce unique chromatic experiences and visual languages.

The participating artists each work with distinct materials and techniques, resulting in varied approaches to colour, texture, light, and composition.

Aeri LEE works with traditional Korean painting materials, using the orange physalis fruit as a central motif. Her works evoke sensory experiences beyond vision, incorporating associations with touch, taste, and sound while referencing themes of auspiciousness, fertility, and the cycle of life.

Abin KOH combines traditional Korean colour painting techniques with embroidery-like surfaces, mounting elements, and aluminum leaf, exploring the relationship between painting and craft, tradition and contemporaneity.

Eunjin KIM incorporates mother-of-pearl into her paintings, utilizing its reflective qualities and changing interaction with light. Her layered compositions create shifting visual experiences depending on the viewer’s perspective and surroundings.

Sungyong HONG builds surfaces through repeated applications of lacquer, visually conveying the accumulation of time and memory. The material’s distinctive texture softly absorbs and diffuses light, creating depth and a contemplative atmosphere.

Yoonjung LEE  employs beads, found objects, and mixed media to construct symbolic narratives around fate, choice, and belief. Repetition and chance-based arrangements become integral to the visual flow of her compositions.

Jimin SEUNG visualises cellular division and the creation of life through the motif of the pomegranate, while exploring themes of femininity, life, and motherhood through forms such as the female body and traditional moon jars.

Sumin PARK presents abstract paintings built with intense colours and rough drawing gestures, expressing emotional states before they fully take shape. Layers of colour and line collide and merge, creating tension and open-ended sensory interpretations.

Through these diverse artistic practices, the exhibition highlights how colour is formed, perceived, and transformed through materiality in contemporary Korean art. Referencing the traditional concept of saekdong, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how traditional Korean ideas of colour continue to evolve and resonate within contemporary artistic expression.