SEBASTIÁN ESPEJO

Bright Moon Sun Gallery 8 May–30 June 2026 Seoul

Press Release

Sun Gallery presents Bright Moon, the first Korean solo exhibition by the Chilean painter Sebastián Espejo (b. 1990, Viña del Mar; based in London), with eighteen new paintings. The exhibition takes its title and curatorial starting point from a 16th-century sijo by the Korean poet Hwang Jin-i, whose pen name, Myeongwol, means “bright moon.” Espejo builds his surfaces slowly, layering oil, wax, marble dust and pencil on wood, canvas and calico, in a meditative still-life tradition that links Chardin, Bonnard and Morandi to a contemporary sensibility informed by East Asian aesthetics (the Korean moon jar, buncheong ware, the Japanese notion of wabi-sabi). At the artist’s request the works are lit individually within a darkened space, so that visitors encounter each painting as if under moonlight. The catalogue essay is by the British art historian Iain Robertson, PhD, who calls Espejo “a burglar of moments.” The title work, The Moon and the River (2024–26, oil and wax on calico, 100 x 80 cm), is the piece most closely tied to Hwang Jin-i’s poem.

Installation Views

Exhibition view: Sebastián Espejo, Bright Moon, Sun Gallery, Seoul (8 May–30 June 2026). Courtesy Sun Gallery.

Exhibition view: Sebastián Espejo, Bright Moon, Sun Gallery, Seoul (8 May–30 June 2026). Courtesy Sun Gallery.

Exhibition view: Sebastián Espejo, Bright Moon, Sun Gallery, Seoul (8 May–30 June 2026). Courtesy Sun Gallery.

Exhibition view: Sebastián Espejo, Bright Moon, Sun Gallery, Seoul (8 May–30 June 2026). Courtesy Sun Gallery.

Selected Works

Blue Green River by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Blue Green River, 2026 Oil on basswood panel
20 x 15 cm
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Bright Moon by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Bright Moon, 2025–26 Oil, marble dust and wax on wood
25 x 20 cm
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Bright Moon ii by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Bright Moon (ii), 2024–26 Oil and wax on canvas
30 x 25 cm
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Floods by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Floods, 2025–26 Oil, wax and pencil on wood
59.5 x 42 cm
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January by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo January, 2025–26 Oil, pencils and wax on wood
50 x 40 cm
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June by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo June, 2025–26 Oil, pencils and wax on wood
50 x 40 cm
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La sombra del verano by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo La sombra del verano, 2024–25 Oil and wax on canvas
50 x 40 cm
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Mariana Trench by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Mariana Trench, 2025–26 Oil, marble dust and wax on wood
25 x 20 cm
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Old cherry blossom by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Old cherry blossom, 2025–26 Oil and wax on wood
59.5 x 42 cm
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Persimmon by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Persimmon, 2025–26 Oil on wood
59.5 x 42 cm
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Punto fijo by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Punto fijo, 2024–25 Oil and wax on wood
20 x 15 cm
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Ramo y escena by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Ramo y escena, 2023–25 Oil, oil pastels, wax on canvas
70 x 60 cm
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Red City by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Red City, 2024–25 Oil on wax on calico
42 x 30 cm
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Small White Light by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Small White Light, 2024–26 Oil, pills, marble dust,wax on canvas
25 x 20 cm
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Sycamore by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Sycamore, 2025 Oil on basswood board
30 x 25 cm
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Ten by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Ten, 2024–26 Oil on wood
30 x 25 cm
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The moon and the river by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo The moon and the river, 2024–26 Oil and wax on calico
100 x 80 cm
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Yellow planetarium by Sebastian Espejo contemporary artwork painting

Sebastián Espejo Yellow planetarium, 2025–26 Oil and marble dust on wood
59.5 x 42 cm
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About the Gallery

Founded in 1977 by Chang-sil Kim in the historic Insadong district of Seoul, Sun Gallery is one of Korea’s longest-operating commercial galleries. Over nearly five decades it has presented more than 500 curated exhibitions spanning painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and craft, and it played a pioneering role in introducing international art fairs to Korea in the 1990s. Landmark initiatives include Sun Art Magazine (launched 1979, 52 issues) and the Sun Art Prize (established 1984, 22 laureates to date), and the program has presented international masters such as Marc Chagall, Emile Antoine Bourdelle, and Marino Marini alongside several generations of Korean artists. From a renovated four-floor space in Insadong, the gallery champions a roster ranging from senior Korean masters, including monochrome painting and chaesaekhwa pioneers, to leading mid-career and emerging painters and sculptors, with an active fair presence across Frieze Seoul, Art Basel Hong Kong, Expo Chicago, Art SG, Art Central Hong Kong, the Galleries Art Fair, KIAF, and Abu Dhabi Art.

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Address

Insadong 5-gil 8
Jongno-gu
Seoul
South Korea

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday
10am-6pm

Sun Gallery

Insadong 5-gil 8, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

+82 2 734 0458
https://www.sungallery.co.kr/

Opening hours

Monday - Saturday
10am-6pm

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