Born in 1927, Cheongju,South Korea
Lived in 1927~2011
Chung Chang-Sup is a prominent figure of the Dansaekhwa monochrome movement, a synthesis of traditional Korean spirit and Western abstraction, which emerged in the early 1970s. His oeuvre reflects his Taoist belief that the artist must balance material and nature in the unified act of making in order to reach harmony.
Dansaekhwa, which remains a driving force in Korean contemporary art, has gained international recognition over the past few years. Although the Korean monochrome painting style has never been defined with a manifesto, the artists affiliated with it primarily share a restricted palette of neutral hues—namely white, beige, and black—hence the umbrella term dansaekhwa (single color). However, monochrome as such has not been the main focus nor the raison d’être of any of the Dansaekhwa leaders, whose unique ascetic vocabularies led to an overall aesthetics that is formally comparable to that of Western minimalism: process prevails within the relentless repetition of geometric or graphic patterns throughout their oeuvre.
Dansaekhwa and minimalism arose in reaction to art informel and abstract expressionism, respectively, and sought to clear art of self-expression or the emotional outpouring that single strokes and vibrant colors used to carry. In fact, all the Dansaekhwa pioneers were formerly seen as practicing art informel, around the principles of which they established the Hyun-Dae Artists Association in Seoul in 1957, to enable young Korean artists to express their anguish in the immediate aftermath of the civil war.