Chung Chang-Sup

A prominent figure in the Dansaekhwa movement of the early 1970s, Chung Chang-Sup sought to honor the natural world in his minimalist paintings, based on his Taoist belief that art must find balance with nature to create harmony. Part of the generation of Korean artists active after the country’s liberation from Japan in 1945, Chung infused his work with traditional mediums and techniques. Over his career, he frequently employed tak, a paper made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, a species native to Korea, to create large “unpainted paintings,” in which he molded the tak by soaking it in water. Chung has exhibited widely, including at the 2015 Venice Biennale and a 2010 retrospective at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon. His works are included in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection.