Donald Judd, Yun Hyong-Keun Show Recreated At 101 Spring Street 33 Years Later

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A pivotal 1993 exhibition featuring works by Korean artist Yun Hyong-keun, originally curated by Donald Judd, has been meticulously recreated at 101 Spring Street in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood. The restaging occurs 33 years after its initial presentation.

The friendship between the two artists began in 1991 when Judd visited South Korea for a solo exhibition in Seoul. There, he encountered Yun's minimalist paintings, characterized by dark blocks on raw canvas, left over from a previous show. Intrigued, Judd sought out Yun, leading to a lasting bond despite language barriers. Judd subsequently invited Yun to exhibit at his 101 Spring Street home, which now operates as a museum and exhibition space under the Judd Foundation.

For the 1993 show, the artists jointly selected half a dozen paintings by Yun, installing them on the building's ground floor. Flavin Judd, Donald Judd's son, noted that“maybe 20 people saw the original show.” Last month, Flavin Judd recounted a dinner held on the opening night, where he remembered“a small exchange of words between our fathers,” highlighting the presence of“six people and three translators.”

Yun Seong-ryeol, Yun Hyong-keun's son, who also attended that dinner, recalled the deep connection between the artists, both born in 1928. Speaking through an interpreter, Yun Seong-ryeol stated,“What I felt was that they didn't need much communication with words because they were both very intuitive people.” He added,“Even meeting one person like that in your lifetime is special. I think that they saw something in each other. They really understood each other.”

Yun Hyong-keun, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 79, is now recognized as one of the 20th century's most revered Korean artists. Beyond this recreation, both artists' works are currently on view in a significant exhibition curated by BTS star RM at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Furthermore, a Judd work purchased by Yun in the early 1990s hangs in Yun's former home in Seoul, which his family recently opened to the public. Yun Seong-ryeol explained that his father took a financial risk to acquire it, telling his mother,“I really need this work, and I need to put it up there. But we are going to be broke after.” She approved the purchase.

Donald Judd died at age 65, a few months after Yun's SoHo exhibition. Yun Seong-ryeol recounted that in 1991, his family asked Judd what he desired as a farewell gift; Judd requested a Korean flag, stating,“When you have an exhibition in Texas, we are going to put up the Korean flag, front and center.” The plan to exhibit Yun's work at Judd's Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas, was realized only after Judd's death. Flavin Judd commented on his father's direct artistic preferences, saying,“Don was very clear that the work he liked, he liked. And the work he didn't, he didn't.”

Source: Artnet News

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