Umber-Black

1975

Umber-Black, 1975. Yun Hyong-keun (Korean, 1928–2007). Oil on linen; 93.5 x 113 cm (36 13/16 x 44 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2022.142 Dated to 1975, Umber-Black is one of the earliest pieces that defines Yun’s long-lasting signature style. Sparsely placed dark pillars that extend the height of the canvas exemplify the forms for which Yun is most celebrated today. Yun explained in his diary that the blank space in between the pillars evokes a pathway into "the gate of heaven and earth," with blue representing heaven, and umber, earth. The heaven and earth in Yun’s paintings, however, are not a minimalistic depiction of the peaceful cosmos. They were an imagined sacred sanctuary in which the artist could freely express his repressed anger and frustration toward the post-war military dictatorship in the 1970s and '80s. The South Korean pop band BTS's RM in his solo album (released in 2022) dedicated the first track to the artist Yun Hyong-Keun.