Yoon Hyanglan was born in 1960, Seoul. Yoon graduated from Hongik University and received MFA at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Life as a foreigner, and nostalgia for Korea and her mother are the main subjects for her work as she lived in France for over 25 years as a stranger. Most well known pieces are Chinese cabbage drawing, collage work that expresses her journey in life, and series. 

 

 In the process of contemplating drawing that is not limited by location, space, and time, Yoon uses material that is easy to access such as paper and pastel. Then freely expresses her energy and passion for life through those materials. Yoon currently works in Paris and participated in ten solo exhibitions and multiple group exhibitions in Seoul and Paris.

 

 Chinese Cabbage symbolizes her nostalgia for Korea and her mother. Yoon glues paper on canvas and completes initial cabbage drawing, then wets the paper to tear the drawing apart to reorganize it on to a new canvas. This work process is just like how her mother used to do ‘kimjang’: a long process to make Korean traditional dish 'kimchi.’ Along with the fact that her work method literally speaks of the Korean way and culture, the ripped paper on canvas and the pastel lines together show instinctive artistic quality as well as pure expressionism. 

 

1960 Born in Seoul 

1990 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris 

Lives and works in Paris and Seoul 

 

Solo Exhibitions 

 

2010 Gallery Hakgojae, Seoul 

2008 Gallery Tokyo Keumsan, Tokyo 

2005 Poetry of Paperm Whanki Museum, Seoul 

2004 Gallery Dongsanbang, Seoul 

Gallery Carée des Coignard, Nogent-sur-Marne, France 

2001 Gallery Dongsanbang, Seoul 

1996 Gallery Pascal Vanhoecke, Paris 

1995 Gallery Dongsanbang, Seoul 

1994 Gallery Crouse Beaux-Arts, Paris 

Gallery La Grande Masse des Beaux-Arts, Paris 

 

Group Exhibitions 

 

2008 Treasures Within, Seoul Museum of Art 

2004 Art Paris, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris 

Line & Drawing, Gallery Chosun, Seoul 

2003 Art Paris, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris 

Paper Art, Traces of Meditation and Time, Whanki Museum, Seoul 

100ans d'Histoir des Artistes coréens en France, Gallery Gana-Beaubourg, Paris 

2002 A Room of Their Own, Korean Cultural Service, Washington 

1998 Asian Avant-Garde, Christie's, London 

1996 Salon de Jeune Peinture, Espace Eiffel-Branly, Paris 

1995 Salon de Montrouge, Montrouge, France Salon de Jeune Peinture, Espace Eiffel-Branly, Paris 

Gallery Area, Paris Maison des Arts de Conches, Conches, France 

1994 Salon de Montrouge, Montrouge, France 

Salon Novembre à Vitry, Vitry-sur-Seine, France 

 

Art Fairs 

 

2009 HongKong Art Fair, Hongkong, China 

2008 Seoul Art Fair, Busan, Korea 

2007 Sanghai Art Fair, Sanghai, China Beijing Art Fair, Beijing, China