Yoo Geun-Taek

Yoo Geun-Taek is a significant figure in contemporary Korean painting. Since the 1990s, he has been exploring the redefinition of visual narratives derived from observation and the influence of the Dansaekhwa art movement that swept the Korean painting field of the 70s and 80s. Geun-Taek’s work is energetic, hypnotic, sensual and meditative.

His practice incorporates the traditional techniques and materials of Korean painting, hanji paper (mulberry paper), inks and oyster shell powder. Geun-Taek has honed a visceral visual language that is often created by dense and bold gestures that show repetitive elements, and by adding layers upon layers of ink and oyster shell powder onto the paper. Geun-Taek's distinctive paintings are imbued with what he calls “a new space of accumulated time”, re-interpreting Korean contemporary history and the future of Korean painting.

Yoo Geun-Taek (b. 1965 in Asan, Korea) has been the subject of one-artist exhibitions at institutions worldwide, including the Daegu Museum of Art, Daegu, Korea (2022); Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon, Korea (2019); Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea (2017); The Korea Society, New York (2016); Tama Art University Museum, Tokyo (2016); OCI Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea (2014); and Savina Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea (2004). Significant recent group exhibitions include the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea (2019); The Parkview Museum Singapore, Singapore (2019); Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju, Korea (2016); the Savina Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul (2015); the Museum of Modern and Contemporary of Art, Seoul (2014) and the Busan Museum of Art, Busan, Korea (2013) among others.

His works are part of numerous public collections, such as the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; Seoul Museum of Art; Gyeonggi Museum of Art, Korea; Chengdu Contemporary Art Museum, Chengdu, China and the Busan Museum of Art, Busan. Geun-Taek is also the recipient of The Lee In-sung Art Prize (2022) and the Gwangju Hwaru Artist Award from the Asia Culture Center (2017). He lives and works in Seoul, Korea.