For an artist, the canvas is a mirror reflecting the self and the only bridge for communicating with the world. Standing before Yu Ju-hee’s work, we encounter a powerful momentum that transcends mere technique or decoration. What we see is not just a ‘painted image,’ but a ‘crystallization of action’: the result of the artist pushing, scraping, and pouring her entire being into the surface. The most fitting key to understanding Ju-hee’s work is the concept of ‘Doui Chusang’ (Abstract of the Way). It captures a sublime moment where the ‘river of thought,’ a path imagined and forged by human will, unfolds across the canvas.


1. Letting Go of the Brush: Finding the Body’s Breath through the Squeegee
Artist Ju-hee chose the squeegee over the brush as her primary tool of expression. This choice is a bold declaration, a complete departure from the traditional painterly grammar of ‘representation.’ As the philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty once said, "The world is painted through the painter’s body."
For Ju-hee, the squeegee is more than a tool; it is an extension of her hand and a part of her physical self. It is a medium that directly collides with the physical earth of the canvas to transfer raw energy. Depending on the thickness of the paint, the artist’s breath, and the shifting pressure of her fingertips, the squeegee either condenses or disperses the pigment, weaving unique patterns across the surface. This process is never soft or sentimental. Instead, through a striking black-and-white contrast, it delivers a visual impact that allows the viewer to feel the sheer physical labor the artist has poured into the work. This ‘language of the body’ transforms the canvas from a flat surface into a dynamic field of perception, inviting the audience to experience the artist’s primal vitality, a resonance that feels like a sudden, thrilling shiver.

“I never actually set out to create a rhythm. But as I pushed the paint with my squeegee, the way the colors met, and the textures thickened naturally found their own beat.
Eventually, that rhythm became my own way of 'writing' my story on the canvas.”

For Ju-hee, every stroke of the squeegee is more than just adding color; it’s about ‘leaving a mark of her existence.’ The fragmented traces we see throughout her different series are like the path her whole body took across the surface. They are records of time, capturing the very moments where the artist’s breath was woven into the work.


2. Anthraquinone Blue: A Color Drawn from the Depths of Memory
Another pillar of Ju-hee’s world is a very specific color: ‘Anthraquinone Blue.’ For the artist, this blue is more than just a visual choice; it is the very foundation of who she is. It holds the essence of a memory from her middle school years, the deep, blue ripples of the Seomjin River she saw while sketching in a pine forest. The peace and hope she felt in that moment are condensed into this single hue. As the philosopher Gaston Bachelard once observed, "Blue is a color that creates depth." In the same way, Ju-hee’s blue reaches far beyond the horizontal horizon; it has a power that dives deep into the vertical soul, touching the very center of our being.

“Blue is the color that captures my essence best: it’s the blue ripples of the Seomjin River and the memories of my childhood.
For me, this color is more than just paint; it’s an emotional landscape and a bridge that carries the traces of my deepest thoughts.”

Anthraquinone Blue truly reveals its soul when it is layered. When brushed on thinly, it becomes a light filled with soft, gentle warmth. But as the layers build up, one upon another, it forms a world of deep, dark shadows, much like the majestic and silent flow of the Seomjin River. Through these layers of blue, Ju-hee gives a physical form to the accumulation of time, turning a fleeting personal memory into a lasting world of artistic thought. In the large-scale works featured in this exhibition, we will experience a resonance that goes beyond just looking at a deep color; we will feel a vibration of the soul within these blue layers. What began as a private, cherished memory for the artist eventually becomes a window for us all, gently touching that deep, universal longing we carry in our hearts.


3. Repetition and Emptying: Labor as a Path to the ‘Abstract of the Way’ (Doui)
When first encountering Ju-hee’s work, many often assume it was created by a male artist. This is because of the overwhelming black-and-white contrasts, the raw power of her materials, and the fierce, steady energy she pours into her massive canvases. But look behind that intense surface, and you will find a woman who deeply loves life, a strong role model who finds joy and purpose in the honest, physical labor she embraces every single day.
Ju-hee’s work is a space where seemingly meaningless actions are repeated without end. At times, this process may feel tedious or even suffocating, but it is within this very repetition that the artist empties herself. It is a journey toward Mula-ilche: a state of oneness where the boundary between the 'creator' and the 'creation' disappears. This touches the very heart of the performative aesthetics pursued in contemporary art. This repetition is a way of thinking deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy. It is a spiritual discipline, a path to ‘Mua’, where one lets go of the ego to become one with the true essence of all things.

“My work is a constant process of emptying myself. The patterns that emerge from my repetitive movements are merely traces left behind.
Yet, it is in the gathering of those traces that my emotional immersion and my very existence are proven.”

Therefore, Ju-hee’s paintings are not about 'what to paint,' but rather her response to 'how to empty.' In the space where she has emptied herself, a river of thought naturally begins to gather and flow, and that river is the very essence of ‘Doui Chusang,’ the 'Abstract of the Way.'
Ultimately, artist Ju-hee’s work is not an object to be stared at with the eyes, but a presence to be felt with every sense of the body and read through the texture of the heart. Walking along the 'river of thought' carved by the squeegee across the vast earth of the canvas, we soon find ourselves standing before the quiet time of meditation the artist has reached. It is the very point where the peaceful memories held in the depths of Anthraquinone Blue meet the dynamic rhythm created by the body’s own breath.

This solo exhibition will be a wondrous journey, witnessing how the devoted labor poured out by the artist, Yu Ju-hee, is sublimated into a universal order. At the end of the traces of emptying carved out by the artist, we paradoxically witness a sublime energy of life that overflows. It is a ceaseless, ongoing journey, one that establishes Ju-hee’s unique visual language and confirms a new horizon for abstraction in Korean contemporary art.