Composition (이응노, 1977)

This work, which is linked to Abstract Letter series in content, presents a dramatic contrast between the white background and the red form. Ungno’s print works, except those that make direct reference to People series or specific figures, are often related to his Abstract Letter series and such works show a great similarity to traditional seal engraving. Seal engraving is a unique carving technique used in areas under the influence of the Chinese language and alphabet, which engraves a letter in a typographic unit. The technique is often regarded as an independent art form due to the artistic quality in carving letterforms. Lee Ungno, who was familiar with traditional East Asian poetry, calligraphy, painting and engraving, made a great number of print works that remind of seal engraving. The cinnabar red in this work emphasizes such an impression, while the English and Chinese inscriptions in black under his signature on the lower right put this work in the context of European print. As written so by the artist, the image of this print was used for his solo exhibition poster at the Galerie Koryo in Paris in 1977.