Case Study: Hastings Contemporary Yun Hyong-Keun Exhibition

With a goal of being the greenest and most sustainable art gallery in the UK, we were honoured when Hastings Contemporary Art Gallery approached us to use our paint for their newest exhibition. Already well on their way to this accolade, Hastings Contemporary uses ground-source cooling technology, solar panels, recycled water and now Earthborn museum safe paint.

Inspired

Hosting the first ever public viewing of the work of Korean artist Yun Hyond-keun, Hastings Contemporary needed to paint the largest space in their award winning building, the Foreshore Gallery.

“Inspired by our eco credentials” Leah Swain, exhibition director chose Earthborn paint for this critical part of the installation, not only for our environmentally friendly ethos but our extensive “colour selection and high quality formula”.

Image of Yun Hyong-Keun story on a wall at his exhibition.

Choosing our palest grey, Bugle Leah Swain tells us “We wanted to create the sense of a natural backdrop for Yun Hyong-keun’s works. The pale grey with lilac undertones, paired with the effect of low lighting and texture of the paint on the walls, softens the space”.

Our paints are officially museum quality too, having passed the Oddy Test. This means no nasty chemicals (such as VOCs) will affect or potentially harm the priceless artwork or any objects on display.

The Exhibition

Described as a leading figure in Korean art, Yun Hyong-keun (1928-2007) once shared his inspiration for his life’s work as “The thesis of my painting is the gate of heaven and earth. Blue is the colour of heaven, while umber is the colour of earth. Thus, I call them ‘heaven and earth’, with the gate serving as the composition”.

This is particularly relevant to Hastings Contemporary’s location, as the gallery is nestled on the Old Town’s Stade, looking out onto the differing shades of blue of the expansive sky and sea.

3 hanging paintings of the artist Yun Hyong-Keun on exhibit.

The show then continues by exploring the creation of ‘the gate of heaven and earth’ with several works displaying its gradual widening until it almost disappears with the closing work, from the year of Yun’s death in 2007. Painted in Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue (1999 and 2007), which ‘heaven’ is now almost completely suppressed by ‘earth’.

The exhibition is now open to the public and is running until 1st October 2023.

Fancy seeing it in person? Book your tickets now.

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