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Artistic giants Kim Whanki, Adolph Gottlieb meet again at landmark exhibit in Seoul

Published: 30 Oct. 2025, 16:28 Updated: 31 Oct. 2025, 18:59

Installation view of “The Language of Abstraction, The Universe of Emotion,” a joint exhibition of Kim Whanki and Adolph Gottlieb at Pace Gallery in central Seoul [KWON KEUN-YOUNG]

Sixty years ago, Kim Whanki (1913-1974) bid farewell to his family at Gimpo International Airport before heading over to the Sao Paulo Art Biennial, then an emerging global stage for modern art.

Upon his arrival and heavily jet-lagged, Kim found himself face-to-face with a towering wall of U.S. abstract expressionist Adolph Gottlieb’s (1903-1974) paintings — 46 monumental canvases that would alter the course of his life.

″Untitled″ (1967) by Kim Whanki [WHANKI FOUNDATION]

Now, half a century after their brief but pivotal encounter, the two artists meet again in a landmark exhibition in Seoul that traces their parallel journeys through abstraction across continents at the Pace Gallery in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

During the biennial — precisely, October 1963 — Korea presented a group of painters and sculptors, including Kim, Yoo Young-kuk and Kim Yeong-ju for Western painting, and Kim Ki-chang and Suh Se Ok for Eastern painting.

Kim Whanki, far right, who participated in the 1963 Sao Paulo Art Biennial, stands with the biennial founder Ciccillo Matarazzo, far left, and others in front of his painting. [WHANKI FOUNDATION]

Kim arrived in Sao Paulo a week after the exhibition opened, submitting three works, including “Moon Night of Island” (1959). He went on to win an honorary award in the painting category — the first Korean artist ever to receive a prize at an international art exhibition.

After sending his official report and collected materials to the then-Ministry of Education, Kim stopped in New York but never returned to Seoul. At 50, a professor at Hongik University and chair of the Korean Fine Arts Association, he chose instead to start anew in the United States.

The top prize at the 1963 biennial went to Gottlieb, a founding member of the New York School alongside Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. In 1968, the Guggenheim and Whitney Museum of American Art held a simultaneous retrospective of Gottlieb’s work — a first and only joint presentation of its kind for a single artist.

Kim Whanki, third from left, departs for the Sao Paulo Art Biennial in 1963, seen off by his family. His wife Kim Hyang-an is shown fourth from left, and his son-in-law Yun Hyong-keun, also an abstract painter, second from right. [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART]

Now, more than 50 years later, the two artists are meeting again — this time on canvas — at “The Language of Abstraction, The Universe of Emotion: Adolph Gottlieb and Kim Whanki,” a joint exhibition opening Friday at Pace Gallery.

Though the two were personally acquainted, this is their first posthumous exhibition together. The show, co-organized by the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation and the Whanki Foundation, features 16 paintings from the 1960s and ’70s, highlighting how both artists developed distinct visual languages from divergent cultural and philosophical foundations.

Gottlieb’s works from the “Burst” series (1957-74) — including three on display in Seoul — pair sun- or moon-like orbs with gestural marks reminiscent of calligraphy. Kim reportedly felt a deep affinity with these forms, writing that they “resonated with my own sensibilities.”

Installation view of Adolph Gottlieb's exhibition at the Sao Paulo Art Biennial in 1963 [ADOLPH AND ESTHER GOTTLIEB FOUNDATION]

Gottlieb had previously experimented with unconscious visualizations in his “Pictograph” series (1941-51) before refining his signature style with explosive brushwork and floating forms.

Kim was visibly moved by Gottlieb’s solo presentation of 46 large-scale paintings at the 1963 biennial.

“How fortunate Adolph Gottlieb must be,” he wrote. The scale, cohesion and confidence of the U.S. exhibition — especially in contrast to the Korean delegation’s group show — left a deep impression on him.

Although Kim had considered returning to Paris after his 1956-59 stay, he decided to remain in New York, deeming French art uninspiring at the time. He stayed in cheap hotels and borrowed studio space from a U.S. artist he had known in Paris. It wasn’t until September 1964, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, that he secured a studio in Manhattan. His wife, Kim Hyang-an, joined him around this time, and their life began to stabilize.

″Untitled″ (1967) by Kim Whanki [WHANKI FOUNDATION]

Kim also maintained ties with Gottlieb in New York, including a memorable visit to Rothko’s studio in 1964, which he recounted in a letter to his wife: “Rothko left a deeper impression than Gottlieb […] His massive canvases, painted with single bands of color, were soft and serene like chamber music. It was theater in color.”

In New York, Kim's style shifted dramatically. His earlier depictions of plum blossoms and moon jars gave way to larger canvases, grid-like compositions, and eventually to the iconic “dot paintings” that he began developing in 1965 and pursued in earnest from 1970. His work gained increasing recognition — but in July 1974, just four months after Gottlieb’s death, Kim also died from an intracerebral hemorrhage following a fall from his hospital bed after surgery for a spinal disc condition.

“This exhibition stemmed from a moment at Kiaf 2019, where we displayed works by both artists side by side,” said Lee Young-joo, senior vice president at Pace Gallery Seoul. “Thanks to close cooperation between the two foundations, we were able to bring this long-overdue, two-person show to life.”

The exhibition runs through Jan. 10, 2026. Admission is free.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KWON KEUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]