[Provided by APA]
[Provided by APA]

Haenam-gun in South Jeolla Province will host a solo exhibition by artist Han Hong-su titled "Uldolmok, Origin of Grain" at the Haenam-gun Culture and Arts Center from June 30 through July 5, the county announced Monday.

Organized under the Haenam Culture and Arts Promotion Fund project, the exhibition introduces the aesthetics of "grain" and "energy" that Han discovered in the currents of Uldolmok — a narrow strait known for its powerful tidal flows — drawing on a painting practice he has developed while moving between France and South Korea.

For Han, Uldolmok is neither a simple landscape nor merely a historical site. It is a natural scene where opposing currents collide and spiral to generate powerful force — the primal source of energy he has long explored in his work. Rather than depicting water itself, he transfers to the canvas the invisible forces that set water in motion and the rhythms left behind by collision and flow. His technique of layering thin, repeated brushstrokes to build transparent strata reveals not a finished form but a process in which time, breath and bodily movement accumulate layer by layer.

The exhibition also reflects Han's critical perspective on the spreading K-content wave. He argues that what is distinctly Korean should be sought not in outward forms such as costumes, food and decorative patterns, but in the shared rhythm running through the breath of pansori, the beat of farmers' music, the movements of shamanistic dance, and the flow of ocean currents and mountain ranges. The "grain" he speaks of is precisely the trace of these relationships and flows.

The exhibition will also feature a generative AI video created in collaboration with Shim Eun-rok, an art critic and AI filmmaker. Rather than simply explaining or reproducing the paintings, the video extends the energy within the canvases into the dimension of time. Han views AI not as something to be rejected but as a "new brush" to be drawn into art and mastered.

"I hope this exhibition will reinterpret Haenam's cultural assets in the language of contemporary art and serve as a bridge between the local and the global," said Myeong Hyeon-gwan, the county's chief executive.

An opening reception will be held June 30 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The exhibition is hosted by Haenam-gun, organized by APA and supported by the Haenam Culture Foundation. Inquiries may be directed to APA.


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