User:Chelseagallerist/Don Ahn

Don Ahn

Don Ahn (born 1937) is a Korean artist currently residing in New York City.

Themes and Influences

Ahn's work is greatly influenced by nature, specifically the cycles of nature as in Zen and other Eastern philosophies. Ascribing to the Eastern belief that nature is central to everything that exists, Ahn paints natural forms and environments, which he abstracts into brushstrokes, drips, and splatters. Titles of his paintings reference trees, wind, and water, and include Broken Branch in the Rain, Old Zen Tree, and Wind, Rain, & Ocean. His swirls and drips portray the rapid, random, and untamed effects of natural forces. [2]

Another influence or concept in Ahn's work is the dragon, a good and powerful figure from Korean and Chinese Mythology, whose movements and forms Ahn suggests in whimsical ribbon-like marks and trails of paint. In Korean folk tales, dragons show goodwill to humans by sending clouds and rain, and they tend to live in lakes, rivers, and oceans. Paying tribute to this folkloric legacy, Ahn's paintings bear titles such as Brown Dragon and Yellow Dragon, as well as titles using names of underwater creatures and habitats, like Phantasy in the Deep Sea. The joyful strokes and bright colors exude the energy of mythical dragons and other sea creatures. [1]

Style and Technique

Ahn's ink and acrylic paintings on canvas are reminiscent of Zen Calligraphy and paintings, with their quick brushstrokes and elegant compositions. Composed of swipes and spatters that course across the pictorial field, these works blend Eastern brush painting with Abstract Expressionist "action painting." [1] In his catalog essay, Jeffrey Wechsler remarks at "how completely even the most explosive of (the marks) ultimately resolve within the paintings as compositional pivots and focal points of visual weight, but without reducing their sense of unbound energy" which he calls a "zen-like paradox." He writes, "Somehow, speed becomes the medium for suggesting presence and substance." [2]

The white paper background accounts for a large percentage of the surfaces of Ahn's works, but to Ahn, these areas are not characteristic of Western "negative space." Instead, as in Eastern Philosophy, empty space or the void is full of Tao (the fullness of existence) and ch'i (the energy within it). [2]

Exhibitions and Awards

Ahn has had numerous solo and group Exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, including the solo shows Dragons & Oceans at Ehwa Gallery, Seoul, Korea in 2007, and Zen & Void at Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, NY in 2004. His work is in private and public collections, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Dayton Art Museum, Ohio, and the Evansville Museum, Indiana. Awards and honors include First Prize (in painting) from the Dayton Art Museum Ohio Regional Art Annual in 1963, the Pratt Graduate Fellowship in 1963, First Prize (in etching) from East Coast Printmaker's Annual in 1964, and the McDowell Artist Fellowship in 1964.

Background

Don Ahn was born in Seoul, Korea. He studied at Seoul University (BFA), Pratt Institute (MFA), and New York University (Ph. D, Art History).

Selected Bibliography

• Cotter, Holland, "Of Asians Among the Abstractionists",The New York Times 2007
• Wechsler, Jeffrey,Asian Traditions, Modern Expressions 1945-1970 , New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1997.
• Community Leaders of America, 1981
• Notable Americans, 1981
• Who's who in the East, 1981
  

External links

• Ahn Tai Chi Studio: ahntaichi.com
  
• Don Ahn at the Japanese American National Museum: [1]
• Review in The New York Times: [2]