Chung Sang-Hwa - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale Hong Kong Tuesday, June 21, 2022 | Phillips

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale

Hong Kong Auction 21 June 2022

  • Chung Sang-Hwa, born in Korea in 1932, is an artist whose work is synonymous with the Dansaekhwa movement that emerged in South Korea during the 1970s. Alongside fellow artists like Park Seo-Bo and Ha Chong-Hyun, Chung pioneered an abstract painting style characterised by its chiefly monochromatic aesthetic that emphasises a detailed, ritualistic process that produces minimalist yet contemplative outcomes.

     


    Chung Sang-Hwa 

     

    Executed in 1990, Untitled 90-12-5 is emblematic of Chung’s expansive oeuvre. The rich cobalt canvas appears blurry from afar, pixelated in a mesmerising fashion that one would deem impossible for a physical painting. Upon closer inspection, the surface reveals an intricate artistic approach, comprising of a network of small, fastidiously painted squares and rectangles, their hues meticulously selected from the blue colour spectrum. The repetitive application morphs into a process within which the artist eventually loses himself in; each dab and stroke of his brush becomes innate, meditative in the same way one repeats a mantra to achieve spiritual transcendence.

     

     

    Detail of the present work

     

    The fruit of an undoubtedly labourious process, the present work is representative of Chung’s repertoire and the Dansaekhwa aesthetic as a whole: a powerfully austere yet silently modest piece built upon the foundation of intense focus and commitment.  

      

    Chung’s work has been exhibited extensively. Recent solo exhibitions include Chung Sang Hwa at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul (2021) and Excavations, 1964–78, hosted by Lévy Gorvy, in New York (2019). The artist also participated in the Venice Biennale (2015), and his work is collected by many prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; and M+, Hong Kong, amongst numerous others. 

     

     

    • Provenance

      Private Collection, Asia
      Phillips, London, 28 June 2016, lot 111
      Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

178

Chung Sang-Hwa

Untitled 90-12-5

signed, titled and dated '1990 "Untitled 90-12-5 [in Hanja]" CHUNG SANG-HWA [in Hanja and English]' on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
41 x 24 cm. (16 1/8 x 9 1/2 in.)
Painted in 1990.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$300,000 - 500,000 
€36,500-60,900
$38,500-64,100

Sold for HK$604,800

Contact Specialist

Danielle So
Specialist, Head of Day Sale
+852 2318 2027
danielleso@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale

Hong Kong Auction 21 June 2022