Wook-Kyung Choi

Biography

Wook-kyung Choi (1940–1985) examined the dynamic spaces inhabited by powerful colours and gestures. Influenced by abstract expressionism, the artist’s distinctive approach defied the pre-eminent groups within the Avant-Garde Korean art movement—those who were mainly preoccupied with dansaekhwa [monochrome painting]—thus challenging the male-dominated history of Korean modernism and postmodernism. She envisioned her body of work as a commitment to personal expression, aiming for a form of abstractionism in which the depicted subject could be clearly recognised.

Choi’s work has been featured in several solo exhibitions, the most recent among them held at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea (2021); Kukje Gallery, Seoul (2020); Tina Kim Gallery, New York (2017); and Shinsegae Gallery, Gwangju (2013). Her work has been showcased in numerous group exhibitions in institutions such as Centre Pompidou, Paris (2021); Cranbrook Art Museum, Michigan (2021); Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2021); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art (2019); Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2019); Buk-Seoul Museum of Art (2018); and Wooyang Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeongju (2017).

Choi’s work is held by significant international collections, including Missouri State University, Kansas; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon; Duksung Women’s University, Seoul; and Hansol Art Museum, Wonju, Korea.

She received 3rd Prize at the 8th Paris Biennale Competition, Paris (1972), among other awards. She participated in residences at the Roswell Museum, Roswell, USA (1976) and the Yaddo Foundation, Saratoga Springs, USA (1969).

Choi taught at Duksung Women’s University, Seoul (1984-1985); College of Education, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea (1979-1981); and Franklin Pierce College, Concord, USA (1968-1971).

She earned a BFA from College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University (1963) and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, USA (1965).

Born in 1940 in Seoul, she passed away in South Korea in 1985.

SAF participation:
Sharjah Biennial 15 (2023)