Lee Dong Youb(b.1946-2013 Korea) is considered one of the founders of the Dansaekhwa movement and one of Lee U-fan’s most prominent students. In 1975, he was the youngest participant of the seminal group show titled "Five Korean Artists, Five Kinds of White" at Tokyo Gallery, which has often been cited as the turning point when ‘Dansaekhwa’ was formally canonised in art history. Across Lee’s oeuvre of over 50 years, his works are characterised by gestural strokes of white on white. The color 'Hinsek 白' (white) has been a constant fixture for him, symbolising a void for consciousness and a vessel for thought. He has referred to it as 'a zone of nothingness' or ‘void of consciousness’ beyond visibility and material world. Some works verge on being pure fields of white, with light washes of gray that barely register through the numerous layers of paint. His canvases invite the viewer to fill the work with their own original thoughts and interpretations.

Lee is noted for having participated in many significant exhibitions, including the 1st Independent Exhibition and His artwork is a part of public collections at Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea. Lee Dong Youb created white Dansaekhwa paintings for over fifty years until his death in 2013.

One of the most significant Korean artists of the twentieth century, Yun Hyong-Keun (1928-2007) was born in Korea, and received his BFA from the School of Fine Arts at Hongik University, Seoul, in 1957. During the 1960s, he became associated with the influential Dansaekhwa (monochromatic painting) movement of Korean artists who experimented with the physical properties of painting and prioritized technique and process. The scarcity of materials following the Korean War (1950-1953) and the country’s relative isolation from the international art world led the artists to construct their own sets of rules and structures in relation to abstraction.

Yun’s artwork has travelled extensively across Asia, Europe and North America. In 2018, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul hosted a major solo exhibition of the artist’s work that traveled to the Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (2019). His work has been included in the São Paulo Biennial (1969 and 1975); the 46th Venice Biennale (1995); and the Gwangju Biennale (2000). Works by the artist are represented in permanent collections internationally, including the Art Institute of Chicago; Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas; Daegu Art Museum, Korea; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan; Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland; Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul; M+

KIM, who was born in 1950, conveyed the realities of life in Korea on canvas in a hyperrealist manner in the 1970s. His long-time subject matter, bricks, has now become the artist’s trademark. KIM’s bricks, presented in a neutral and mechanical representation of real bricks, can be considered as Korean reinterpretation of Hyperrealism. KIM’s paintings are so distinctive that they paintings are clearly distinguished from traditional figurative art as well as American Hyperrealism, which the artist was influenced by. Thus, what characterizes his work is not hyperrealist technique - it is simulacre, whereby an image becomes independent from the original, turns far more real than the original itself and functions as its own reality eventually.

In Kim's paintings, bricks exist only as images. They appear to be bricks, but they are in fact merely images; we see the image and mistake it for a brick. In this way, the painting skillfully dismantles boundaries as it moves back and forth between the real and the image. Rather than being a receptacle to contain the real, the canvas is a tool for confirming the two-dimensionality of a virtual image unconnected with the real. Because the bricks seem so real, they give the viewer the impulse to touch them.

Shadow is another important element in understanding Kim's paintings. The artist has said outright that he has painted shadows rather than bricks. He carefully shapes a surface embedded with sand grains of a single color, as though leveling the ground. It is shading alone that transforms those grains into bricks, and it is entirely through the adding of shadow that the artist generates the effects of a divided surface, of some parts projecting outward and others falling inward, of bricks appearing jumbled or stacked high. Thus, the secret behind Kim's ability to produce an illusion of reality by giving the appearance of brick forms, or by giving them expression, essentially lies in shadow.

Because Kim's paintings are so realistic, they have often been categorized as hyperrealism. The artist has a different idea, however. "People often categorize my work as hyperrealism, but the bricks in my paintings are all an illusion. They are all 'virtual bricks.' For me, bricks are merely the subjects that express my artistic world; the bricks themselves are not important. The theme of my work is repetition and formativity," he says.

Born in 1957 in Korea, Jung Jong Mee has gained widespread recognition for her extraordinary talent in working with hanji, the traditional Korean paper made from mulberry trees, and for her artistic portrayal of women. Growing up in a conservative environment in Daegu, she developed a deep fascination with the women who played significant roles in her life. By closely observing her mother, grandmother, and other female figures, she cultivated a profound empathy and understanding for their experiences.

Jung Jong Mee firmly believed in the untapped potential of women and their innate ability to contribute harmoniously alongside men. Motivated by this belief, she channeled her artistic expression into depicting women using hanji, a material that perfectly encapsulated the qualities she associated with Korean women - a remarkable blend of resilience and tenderness. The traditional Korean paper possessed a unique combination of durability and softness, mirroring the characteristics she admired in the women around her. In her artworks, Jung Jong Mee particularly focused on depicting Korean mothers who, despite their exhausting daily routines, would tirelessly work late into the night. Under the gentle glow of a lantern, they would meticulously thread needles with vibrant colored threads, weaving intricate patterns on cloths adorned with the five directional colors. These exquisite cloths were intended to be used as elegant wrapping materials, symbolizing the transformative power of these women who embodied hope and dedication. Stitch by stitch, they poured their passion into delicate embroidery, creating the most beautiful and refined garments. Through series such as "Mrs. Paper Women" and "Wrapping Cloth Women," Jung Jong Mee pays homage to these exceptional women, creating scrolled memorials that honor and cherish the legacy of our mothers.

Until 2021, Jung Jong Mee held the esteemed position of Professor at the Department of Fine Art in Korea University. Her remarkable artistic contributions have been acknowledged with prestigious awards, including the Lee Insung Award in 2012 and the Lee Jungseob Award in 2001. Notably, her works have been sought after by esteemed institutions such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Korea University Museum, and Seoul National University, where they are proudly showcased in their collections.