Abstract painter Rhee Seundja (1918–2009), born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, and Lebanese-born artist Etel Adnan (1925–2021) never met during their lifetimes and may not have even known of each other's existence. Yet their life trajectories and artistic approaches bear striking similarities.
Rhee left for Paris in 1951 during the Korean War, leaving behind her three sons, while Adnan fled to France to escape the Lebanese Civil War. Both carried the wounds of war and displacement as they lived in foreign lands, struggling to leave their mark in the male-dominated postwar abstract art world. They also share the distinction of being late bloomers who began their artistic careers after their thirties, with deep longing for their homelands permeating their works.
White Cube in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, has brought the two artists together for the first time in its inaugural exhibition of the year. The show presents 10 works by Rhee and 9 by Adnan side by side, facilitating a posthumous artistic dialogue between two creators who were similar yet distinct. The exhibition title "To Meet the Sun" is borrowed from an elegy Adnan wrote in 1968 commemorating the death of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The title captures the trajectory of both artists' contemplation, which began on earth and ultimately reached toward the cosmos.
Susan May, Global Artistic Director at White Cube, explained, "When humanity first reached space, a visual shift occurred—we finally came to see Earth as a single planet." She added, "The sun and moon frequently appear in Adnan's work, while geometric structures reminiscent of planetary systems often emerge in Rhee's paintings, confirming both artists' profound interest in the universe."
In the exhibition space, first impressions of the two artists' works reveal uncanny similarities. Both primarily use warm, earthy tones of orange, brown, and yellow, with blue and purple seeping in to evoke sky and cosmos. The woven texture achieved through Rhee's repeated, layered brushstrokes of vibrant colors connects with Adnan's tapestry works, stitched thread by thread. While both artists employ the language of abstraction, they similarly condensed their explorations of earth and universe into geometric forms such as squares and circles.
Differences also emerge. Rhee's works on display are primarily from her 1960s "Woman and Earth" series, characterized by a sense of structural order through repeated rectangular frames, symmetrical compositions, and elaborate grid patterns. In contrast, Adnan's works from the 2010s and 2020s draw the eye with lyrical yet sensuous colors.
This exhibition marks Adnan's first introduction to Korean audiences. "Adnan is a female artist who excelled not only in painting but also in writing and philosophy. I had always wanted to introduce her to Korea, but it took 10 years," May said. "I hope visitors will experience the landscape of artists with different historical and geographical backgrounds engaging in dialogue."
The exhibition runs through March 7.
