/ The Bards of Time and Space

The shape of space, the rhythm of time — as dots resonate and dissolve into eternity, The Bards of Time and Space rekindles the spiritual core of ‘abstraction’ within the East Asian context. The exhibition opens with works by Ho Kan, a pioneering figure in Chinese geometric abstraction, and Soonik Kwon, a leading contemporary abstract artist from Korea. Through Ho Kan’s ‘order’ — bright color fields and geometric compositions — and Soonik Kwon’s ‘flow’ — brushwork and textures that embody the concept of qi on canvas — viewers are invited to embrace multiple perspectives of seeing. Within the visual language of abstraction, the exhibition explores the inner cultivation of both artists: the path toward freedom and transcendence through art.

Curated under the theme of ‘Form and Qi’, The Bards of Time and Space spans from 1955 to 2024, encompassing paintings, object installations, and early manuscripts. The exhibition unfolds through five major sections that orchestrate a rhythm of perception: 【The Order of Form · The Flow of Qi】, 【Revisiting East Asian Abstraction】, 【From Stillness to Movement: Dots, Squares, Triangles】, 【Between Form and Qi: The Gateway to Eternity】, 【Painting as the Bridge Between Us】. Interwoven with carefully placed design furniture, the spatial layout guides both the viewer’s gaze and their movement through the exhibition.

Ho Kan and Soonik Kwon embody two essential qualities in the evolution of East Asian abstract art. Ho Kan infuses minimalist geometric space with Eastern cultivation and poetic sensibility, creating surreal, mysterious imagery. Soonik Kwon, focusing on the layering of time and color, reveals the threshold where materiality meets temporality, and thought encounters sensation — a direct engagement with the ‘present’, unbound by past or future. This intergenerational and cross-regional dialogue crystallizes a dynamic harmony. As viewers move through the space, they attune to their inner resonance and experience firsthand that ‘abstraction is not an escape from reality, but an entry into a deeper reality’.