A groundbreaking exhibition at Pace Gallery Seoul brings together the works of two influential 20th-century abstract artists who first encountered each other's work at the 1963 São Paulo Biennale in Brazil. Korean master Kim Whanki (1913-74) received an honorary prize that year, while American artist Adolph Gottlieb (1903-74) was awarded the Grand Prix, each representing their respective national pavilions. Though no records confirm whether the two artists actually met face-to-face at the international event, Gottlieb's paintings would prove to be a catalyst for a dramatic transformation in Kim's artistic journey.
The encounter with Gottlieb's work inspired Kim to make a life-changing decision at age 50. He left Korea and crossed the ocean to New York, where Gottlieb had already established himself as a prominent figure in the New York School alongside legendary artists Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. It was in New York that Kim entered the most defining phase of his career, developing his now instantly recognizable pointillist style characterized by infinite constellations of dots that would become his artistic signature.
"The Language of Abstraction, The Universe of Emotion" at Pace Gallery Seoul presents a compelling dialogue between these two masters of abstract art. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Whanki Foundation and the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, illuminating how artists from East and West each translated their unique visions into a shared language of abstraction. The show demonstrates the parallel artistic trajectories of both painters while highlighting their distinctly different approaches to abstract expression.
The gallery's second floor showcases Kim's canvases from the late 1960s and early 1970s, tracing the remarkable evolution of his artistic style. Before his transformative New York period, Kim's lyrical abstractions drew heavily from classical East Asian motifs including moon jars, mountain ridges, plum blossoms, cranes, and deer. However, within the competitive New York art scene, such imagery was often dismissed as derivative of Western Abstract Expressionism. This harsh realization struck Kim deeply, prompting him to completely strip his art of figurative references and refine his visual language into pure elements: dots, lines, and planes.
The paintings displayed at Pace Gallery chronicle the sophisticated development of Kim's dot paintings, beginning with early structural compositions featuring crosses and quadrants before evolving into later works that pulse with rhythmic constellations. These works demonstrate Kim's mastery of transforming simple geometric elements into complex, emotionally resonant compositions that speak to universal human experiences while maintaining their distinctly Korean sensibility.
On the third floor, Gottlieb's canvases present a dramatically different yet equally compelling world where intuitive shapes meet bold fields of color to visualize the raw dynamism of the unconscious mind. His Pictographs series from the 1940s employed all-over grids and invented symbols to give tangible form to the unseen and the primal aspects of human experience. In subsequent decades, he developed his Imaginary Landscapes series, featuring canvases divided into two distinct planes representing sky and earth, spirit and emotion.
The Burst series, one of which originally inspired Kim at the São Paulo Biennale, distilled the structural elements of the Imaginary Landscapes into even simpler yet more powerful compositions. These striking works feature a floating orb colliding with a mass of explosive brushwork beneath, creating a visual tension that captures opposing forces such as sun and earth, order and chaos, condensed into single, striking images that resonate with viewers on a visceral level.
By strategically pairing Gottlieb's works with Kim's pieces from the same era, the Seoul exhibition invites visitors to trace their parallel artistic trajectories while appreciating their fundamental differences. "If the most striking element of Gottlieb's Burst series is its explosive, almost aggressive brushwork, then Kim's style is more cosmic, lyrical and gentle," explained Lee Young-joo, the gallery's senior director, during Tuesday's press preview. "So while there are points of intersection between the two, the show also allows us to witness how differently each painter approached abstraction."
"The Language of Abstraction, The Universe of Emotion" continues through January 10, 2026, offering art enthusiasts a rare opportunity to experience the dialogue between these two masters of abstract art in a single, thoughtfully curated space.
