Burnt Umber & Ultramarine Blue 2007

This is a painting by Yun Hyong-keun, called Burnt Umber & Ultramarine Blue. Two dark columns painted vertically bookend the canvas leaving a wide, creamy colored expanse in the center. I imagine Yun working on this, maybe outside, with the canvas flat on the ground. He’s pouring thin washes of paint onto the canvas, letting them seep into the fibers. It’s about absorption, soaking in. He’s probably thinking of the elements – earth, sky, and water. How they stain and mark everything. The umber and ultramarine are so dark they almost look black, but I think if you stare long enough, you can see the brown and blue peeking through. The edges of these columns look uneven, organic. He’s doing what painters do, having a conversation with Rothko, Newman, and maybe even Agnes Martin, but pushing it further, into something quieter, more internal. It feels like he’s trying to distill painting down to its essence.