Heart of Grass

Kim transforms the four Chinese characters seen above the English title in this label into a group of long lines that resemble a modern abstract painting. In order to achieve this effect, he first wrote the characters on a plaster plate, which he incised with a tool. He then applied ink mixed with acrylic paint on the plaster surface, over which he laid a sheet of paper. Finally, he rubbed the paper into the inked and painted plaster. The incised characters remained white, while the background was colored with ink and paint.

Sun Wuk Kim's lifetime goal has been to modernize the art of calligraphy. He learned calligraphy and seal carving beginning in 1964 from master Cheolnong Yi Gi-woo, who carved the seals of two former presidents of Korea. The penname Hanong, which means "Cultivator of the Lotus," was bestowed upon him by the master. Kim has explored new calligraphic territory by interweaving the historic repertoires of Chinese and Korean scripts with the aesthetics of the modern era. Kim founded the Art of Ink in America in 1994, and has had exhibitions in the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.