Bringing together five artists from China, Japan, and Korea — Katsuyoshi Inokuma, Liu Ke, Masayuki Tsubota, Soonik Kwon, and Tetsuo Mizu — the exhibition EAST OF ABSTRACTION: SHUHARI | SHIBUMI examines the evolution of Asian abstraction across generations, geographies, and philosophical traditions.
This exhibition situates abstraction in Asia not as a derivative extension of Western Modernism, but as a parallel and deeply rooted discourse shaped by calligraphic traditions, post-war reconstruction, transnational travel, material experimentation, and contemplative philosophy. Through painting and sculptural relief, the artists in this presentation demonstrate how abstraction in China, Japan, and Korea has developed through distinct yet interconnected trajectories — where East meets West, method meets materiality, and spiritual contemplation intersects with social consciousness.
The exhibition’s conceptual framework draws upon the Japanese principle of SHUHARI(守破離), a structure of learning and mastery that translates as “to follow, to break, to transcend.” In its first stage (SHU 守), tradition is absorbed and internalised; in the second (HA 破), conventions are questioned and disrupted; in the third (RI 離), transcendence emerges as a personal and autonomous expression. Complementing this progression is SHIBUMI (渋み), an aesthetic sensibility rooted in restraint, quiet depth, and understated elegance. Together, these concepts offer a lens through which to understand the evolution of abstraction across Asia — disciplined yet exploratory, minimal yet expansive, meditative yet intellectually rigorous.
Venue: Whitestone Gallery Singapore, 39 Keppel Road #05-03/06 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065
When: 24 Mar - 3 May 2026,
By: Whitestone Gallery - New Art Museum
