JONGSUK YOON

The Far East to which Yoon refers is both spatial and temporal, physical and mental. It is the Korea of her childhood, referencing in particular the countryside near Onyang where she grew up until age thirteen, living in close proximity to rivers and mountain ranges. The ethereal quality of her environs left an indelible impression that is reflected in her paintings, which do not convey faithful representations of her memories but rather vibrant and poetic visions of nature. Thus, the arrival of spring, with its spectacular blooms of wild azaleas and forsythias carpeting the mountains with vivid colours, takes the form of broad flat tints of rich pink or yellow on canvas. Similarly, the sky, the clouds, the sun, a lake and a river are represented by a multitude of bold, soft colours that together form polychromatic dreamlike panoramas that are suspended in time. The works in the exhibition, with titles such as Summer, Heatwave, High Sun, The Good Earth, April and_Flowers_, invoke the imagination of spring and summer, of renewal and fertility, suggesting a welcoming, enveloping, warm and luminous nature.

Since 2012, Yoon has devoted herself to oil painting, depicting a variety of landscapes, sometimes drawn from memory, sometimes inspired by photographs, giving free rein to her subjectivity and emotions. Attracted by their immersive character, she favours large formats to create a cinematic effect. When engaging canvases several meters long, such as High Sun and_Flowers_ on the ground floor of the gallery, or devising monumental murals commissioned by museums, she begins each composition without any preparatory drawings or preconceived ideas. ‘It’s the painting itself that guides me,’ she confides. Her process, which is both physical and meditative, is marked by spontaneity, with each gesture dictated by the present moment. By applying, superimposing and juxtaposing colours in successive layers, she reveals the multiple strokes of her brush. Over the months, ‘the interior and exterior landscapes merge and emerge as a new entity on the canvas.’

The idea of an inner journey resonates deeply with the pictorial tradition of the Far East, particularly through ‘mountain and water’ painting (shanshui), which emerged in China during the Tang dynasty (7th-10th centuries). Unlike Western convention, the artist does not attempt to represent natural places as they exist or have existed, but instead composes landscapes to be explored thoughtfully, translating sensations and concepts born of her intimate relationship with nature. This sensitivity enables her to make perceptible our place in the universe, as well as the vital breath that animates each natural element. As Yoon explains: ‘Each painting has a life of its own, and it’s my job to make it visible.’

Two new large-scale murals by Yoon are included in the Colors of Water exhibition on show from 21 March to 7 September 2025 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Cheongju, South Korea. A new monograph dedicated to her work, including an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist and articles by Adam Budak and Heike Eipeldaeur, will be released this year by Mousse Publishing.

Born in Onyang in South Korea in 1965, Yoon moved to Germany in 1995 to study, first at the Münster Künstakademie (1996) and then at the Düsseldorf Künstakademie where she was a student of Fritz Schwegler (1997 - 2001). She continued her training at Chelsea College of Art in London (2004 - 2005). She lives and works in Düsseldorf.

Her most important recent solo exhibitions include Kumgangsan at the Mumok in Vienna, Austria (2024), Gang at the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany (2021); Wall Paintings (2020) at the Nordiska Akvarellmuseet in Skärhamn, Sweden (2020); Gang San at the Art Sonje Center in Seoul, South Korea (2018); Mind Landscapes at the Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Germany (2017) and Sansui at the Osthaus Museum in Hagen, Germany (2015). In 2024, she exhibited for the first time in the United States at Marian Goodman Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has been acquired by numerous collections, including the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, the Zabludoviwz Collection in London, the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover and the Jorge and Darlene Perez Collection in Miami.

Marian Goodman Gallery champions the work of artists who stand among the most influential of our time and represents over five generations of diverse thought and practice. The Gallery’s exhibition program, characterised by its calibre and rigour, provides international platforms for its artists to showcase their work, foster vital dialogues with new audiences, and advance their practices within nonprofit and institutional realms. Established in New York City in 1977, Marian Goodman Gallery gained prominence early in its trajectory for introducing the work of seminal European artists to American audiences. Today, through its exhibition spaces in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris, the Gallery maintains its global focus, representing some 50 artists working in the U.S. and internationally.