Works

Almine Rech Brussels presents Ha Chong-Hyun’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery, running from April 22 to June 27, 2026. The exhibition explores the Korean artist's engagement with abstraction and figuration, challenging conventional Western art historical binaries. Ha Chong-Hyun's practice grounds abstraction in materiality, using repeated gestures like dragging, piercing, and pressing to create distinct forms. This approach is representative of the Korean Dansaekhwa movement, of which he is a key figure.

The exhibition delves into how Ha Chong-Hyun's work, particularly his seminal Conjunction series, is shaped by his life experiences and the sociopolitical context of postwar Korea. His signature back-pressure method (baeapbeop), pushing paint through burlap, creates a unique sculptural plasticity. The works are characterized by a focus on materiality and persistent, meditative gestures, moving beyond a singular definition of Dansaekhwa as merely monochromatic painting. The exhibition showcases recent works that incorporate more vivid hues while maintaining the core principles of his practice.