Chun Kwang Young incorporates elements of both painting and sculpture in his practice. He is best known for his acclaimed Aggregation series: freestanding and wall-hung amalgamations of small, triangular forms wrapped in antique mulberry paper, often tinted with teas or pigment.
Born in Hongcheon, South Korea, in 1944, Chun grew up during the end of Japanese colonization and the brutality of the Korean War. In the early 1970s, he moved to the United States to pursue a master’s degree at Philadelphia College of Art, where he was deeply drawn to Abstract Expressionism. “It seemed to be the best way to freely express my surprise and sadness at witnessing the huge gap between idea and reality,” he says.
Over time, Chun became disillusioned with the materialistic drive that seemed to fuel the American dream and feelings of loneliness intensified his longing for home. During this period, Chun’s paintings, which explored the effects of light and color, reflected his interest in Abstract Expressionism; however, he ultimately found the expression inauthentic. Chun decided to return to Korea and focus on developing his own methodology, one that was wholly unique and reflective of his history and cultural identity.
The development of Chun’s signature technique was sparked by childhood memories of seeing medicinal herbs wrapped in mulberry paper, tied into small packages and hung from the ceiling of the local doctor’s office. He became intrigued with the idea of merging the techniques, materials, and sentiment of his Korean heritage with the freedom he experienced during his Western education.
Over the years, Chun’s Aggregations have become more colorful and evolved in complexity and scale, but the use of mulberry paper remains at the core of his practice. Although imbued with the spirit of Korean tradition and history, Chun’s work, with its intricate, abstract compositions, is grounded in a purely contemporary context.
Chun Kwang Young received a BFA from Hongik University, Seoul and an MFA from the Philadelphia College of Art, Pennsylvania. His work is in numerous public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The Rockefeller Foundation and United Nations, New York; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC; Philadelphia Society Building, Pennsylvania; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul and Seoul Museum of Art; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and National Museum of Fine Arts, Malta.
In 2022, forty of his large-scale reliefs, sculptures, and installations were showcased in the exhibition Times Reimagined at the Venice Biennale. In 2025, his work was on view in Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. In 2026, his work will be featured in Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses at the Brooklyn Museum, New York.
The aritst lives in works in Seongnam, South Korea.
