Hyundai Hwarang is pleased to present a solo exhibition of Korean-American artist Young-Il Ahn. Ahn was born in Gaesong in 1934, spent his childhood in Tokyo and graduated from at Seoul National University in 1958 with a bachelor in painting. After graduation, Ahn taught at Seoul Arts High School and Seoul National University High School and was chosen as the ‘recommended artist’ at the National Art Exhibition. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1966, Ahn has continued to show various works such as his most representative work the Water series as well as the California series which examine the relaxed atmosphere and landscape of California. Recently, Ahn’s solo exhibition opened at Los Angeles County Museum of Art(LACMA) located in California. The exhibition is of special significance in that it is the museum’s first show of a Korean artist as well as a Korean-American Artist.

In each Water painting, Ahn explores the infinite ways in which light, water, and fog interact with the ocean. From a distance, the paintings appear static—each canvas a flat surface rendered in a single vibrant color. Up close, however, light trickles out from the small squares and forms a mosaic-like shape. The small squares of thickly applied paint conform to an uneven grid and create the impression of moving light, ultimately mimicking the refractive effect of light on water.

It has been 31 years since Young-Il Ahn’s solo exhibition at Hyundai Hwarang, his last solo exhibition at this gallery being in 1986. This exhibition presents around 30 pieces of Ahn’s Water series—created from the 1990s until recently. The Water series, in which the canvas is fully filled with small color dots made by a palette knife, encompasses the ocean shining in myriad colors and rhythm of the waves. By exhibiting Ahn’s most recent works, the exhibition hopes to shed new light on his works that show in-depth observation of nature and exotic colors