Renowned Korean Dansaekhwa Painter Jeong Sang-hwa Dies at 94
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Jeong Sang-hwa, a leading figure of Korea’s monochrome painting movement known as 'Dansaekhwa' (Korean monochrome art), died at 94 after a long illness. Born in 1932 in Yeongdeok, he studied painting at Seoul National University, began his career as a teacher, and turned to abstract expression in the 1950s. Working in Japan and France in the 1970s–80s, Jeong developed a distinctive grid-based abstract style using a labor-intensive method: applying 5mm layers of kaolin clay (고령토) to canvas, drying, tearing, and repainting repeatedly—a process that could take over a year. Once mocked as 'looking like wallpaper,' his repetitive technique became his signature; he described the grid lines as his veins and the work as his heartbeat. Alongside Lee Ufan and Park Seo-bo, he was part of the 'three Dansaekhwa' who helped bring Korean monochrome painting to the global stage; his works are held by institutions including the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum, Hong Kong’s M+, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The funeral is at Seoul National University Hospital, with the farewell on January 30.
