Yoong Bae: Continuity and Pursuit

Twenty years ago the museum presented 21 muted and meditative artworks by Korean American artist Yoong Bae (1928–1992). These pieces were then donated to our collection, representing some of the first truly modernist works acquired by the museum.

Now, for the first time in two decades, a focused selection of Bae’s paintings is on display in the museum’s Korean art galleries. These eight representative pieces introduce the late artist’s hybridized approach to a new generation of visitors.

Bae was known for blending Korean artistic traditions with modern Western art while reflecting the calmness and harmony of someone at peace in this in-between space. Those inspired by 28 Chinese and First Look: Collecting Contemporary at the Asian should swing by the second floor to view Bae’s work and learn more about the museum’s contemporary art legacy.

Main image: Meditation (detail), 1991, by Yoong Bae (Korean, 1928–1992). Ink and colors on paper. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Gift of Kyung-Hee Bae in memory of Yoong Bae, 1994.70. © Estate of Yoong Bae. Image © Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.