Kiang Malingue is pleased to present an exhibition of the late Cho Yong-Ik’s (1934-2023) abstract paintings created in the last five years. Recognised as a leading figure in Korean abstract painting, Cho produced a series of vibrant paintings after his exhibition at Edouard Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong in 2016, continuing to explore the haptic and spiritual dimensions of art, concluding a remarkable, ever-deepening oeuvre that first made its international appearance in the 1960s.

For the new body of work, Cho applied signature painting methods such as scratching — gently peeling off the top layer of paint with his thumb, a dry brush or a knife to reveal the alter undertone — freely oscillating between the celebrated “Wave” and “Bamboo” series to reexamine structural and semantic associations between the independent series. While the painting processes and the matrix-making marks were just as rigorous and porous as earlier series, the palette became increasingly lively and robust: in his eighties, Cho made extensive use of unprecedentedly saturated indigo, aquamarine, crimson, turquoise and olive alike, measuring the different ways in which the dashing, permeable white marks — constant yet always unique — take form against a highly contrasting surface.

Preview: Thur, 26 October, 6 – 8 PM

Gallery address: 10 Sik On Street, Wanchai