The Page Gallery

In Eastern philosophy, the heavens and the earth are referred to as “Cheonwonjibang (天圓地方)”, which means "the sky is round and the earth is square." The square, the shape most resembling a circle, was considered to have a proportion that maximized the harmony of heaven and earth, yin and yang. In this exhibition, the square is presented as a solid and serene land on which art is placed.

The circle is made up of countless angles and has reached the point where it has no corners. In Buddhism, it is used as a symbol of the journey to find the truth. The square has a proportion that embraces the circle and the elasticity to become a circle if trimmed. Like curves created by countless angles, the works of the five artists quietly surface after going through innumerable processes and dialogues with material properties. Each of these works has its own square shape, engaging in a conversation in the exhibition hall.

Mubi (無比) means that something is so excellent that there is nothing to compare it to. In Buddhist philosophy, it means incomparable in this world. In Eastern philosophy, mu (無, nothing) is not absolute non-existence or nothingness, but rather connotes endless possibilities and infinite chaos. As the title implies, this exhibition has a structure that brings the essence of the artworks to a level beyond their forms and beyond the visible. The five artists put on view the square structure, the most perfect and stable proportional form made by humans as a common denominator that embodies mubi.

Paying attention to the beauty of the proportions flowing in the works, mubi is revealed as a fundamental principle penetrating the works of the five artists. Variations on the square are presented by Donald Judd, one of the pioneers of Minimalism, Agnes Martin, known as the "artist of the line," and three Korean artists. Sangyuel Yoon's thin lines converge at the center of the square, creating spaces of contemplation between the lines. Kim Yisu's canvases unfold with endless light created by subtle differences. The overlapping strokes of Shin Soohyeok create countless squares in the canvas, abstractly expressing memory and space, the boundaries between the ordinary and the unusual, and various repetitive phenomena.

The word "Site-specific", which is recognized as the core of Minimal Art in this exhibition, not only refers to a physical place but also the different position that each artist adheres to. Mubi is evoked as their art sublimates to a dimension beyond the visible "form."