Kim Kang-yong, Kim In-ok, Kim Jae-won, Kim Keun-joong, Kim Sun-woong, Kim Byung-jong, Kim Ji-hoon, Kim Ji-yong, Kim Se-choong, Kim Beom, Yoo Hyun-mi, Kim Han-yong, Kim Dae-soo, Park Soo-keun, Park Sung-nam, Park Jin-heung, Oh Chi-ho, Oh Seung-woo, Oh Seung-yun, Oh Byung-wook, Oh Byung-jae, Lee Suk-ju, Lee Sa-ra, Chun Kyung-ja, Sumita Kim, Ha In-doo, Ryu Min-ja, Ha Tae-im, Han Man-young, Han Seung-ku, Heo Geon, Hur Jin, Hur Young-man, Hur Bo-ree

Park Soo-keun, 시장의 여인, 30x29cm, Oil on hardboard, 1960s

The Breath of Art Across Time

To remain devoted to a single field and preserve it through the passage of time is not merely an act of safeguarding the past; it is, in itself, something of profound and noble value. Just as each nation and ethnicity possesses its own distinct color and cultural DNA, the emotions and spiritual consciousness rooted in this land have accumulated layer upon layer over thousands of years, ultimately giving shape to Korea’s unique cultural identity.

Chun Kyung-ja, 소녀, 13.6×12.7cm, Color on paper, 1994

In the midst of this dynamic age, when the Korean Wave under the banner of “K-culture” resonates across the world, we find ourselves once again facing an essential question: Where do our spiritual roots lie, and what is the Korean DNA that runs through our identity?

Lee Sa-ra, wonderland, 64x64cm, Acrylic on Canvas, lavender frame, 2025

An Artistic Spirit That Transcends Generations

This exhibition has been organized to shed light on the narratives of artistic families that form part of the foundation of Korean art. These are —families in which artistic values have been passed down across two or three generations, carried forward by fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, and even grandparents and grandchildren.

Their work reaches beyond individual family histories to form a strong and enduring current within modern and contemporary Korean art. Upon the artistic ground cultivated by one generation, the next puts forth new leaves, which in turn nourish those yet to come. This exhibition offers a look into the sublime nature of that inheritance: the emotional and aesthetic foundations preserved by the first generation, the distinctive and contemporary vision through which the second generation reinterprets them in response to the changing times, and the profound artistic bond that binds them together—often stronger than blood itself.

Ha Tae-im, Un Passage No.224003, 80x80cm, Acrylic on Canvas, 2022

Through this exhibition, Gallery NoW wishes to express its deepest respect for the artistic spirit that has quietly held its place across generations and carried forward the living pulse of Korean identity. To carry on a lineage is to understand the fierce struggles of those who came before, and, without letting the flame of their spirit die out, to reinterpret it in one’s own language. It is both a creative act of succession and a path toward future growth. What these artists have preserved is not simply a body of “works,” but the spiritual backbone of our people and the cultural vitality that will continue to extend far into the future.

Hur Jin, 유목동물+인간-문명2022-1, 100×80cm, Ink, color and acrylic on Hanji, 2022

Gallery NoW’s 20-Year Journey, and the Weight of Continuity

Since opening its doors on April 5, 2006, Gallery NoW has continued to move forward without pause, breathing alongside art at its very forefront. Marking our 20th anniversary, this exhibition is an occasion to reflect once more on our role as a bridge where past, present, and future converge. If we see art as flowings like a river, and the gallery preparing the ground in the lowlands so that its waters may never be obstructed, then this exhibition can be viewed as a place of record. It is: a space that attends to the textures of artistic spirit so carefully passed down through generations, and that witnesses, however briefly, the uninterrupted and majestic vitality of art as it continues to flow. We hope this exhibition will offer a meaningful opportunity to rediscover the Korean DNA that runs through us, and to reflect deeply on the enduring value of art.

-Lee Soon-shim, Gallery NoW