Bang Hai Ja

Born on July 5, 1937 in Seoul and died in 2022 in Ardèche, Bang Hai Ja was a South Korean contemporary artist , abstract painter , calligrapher and stained glass artist who settled in France from 1961. A major figure of the first generation of Korean abstraction , she devoted more than sixty years of creation to a spiritual and plastic quest centered on light , which became the foundational material of all her work and the universal symbol of peace, love and unity between cultures.

Graduating in 1961 from Seoul National University , where she studied both Eastern and Western painting, calligraphy, and ink, she quickly distanced herself from academic conventions under the influence of artists Chang Ucchin, Lee Ungno, Yoo Youngkuk, and Kim Byungki. She created her first abstract work in 1960 before moving to Paris, drawn by French culture and the intellectual currents of the time, particularly existentialism.

Her arrival in France marked a pivotal moment. Supported by art critic Pierre Courthion, she forged connections with Léon Zack, Elvire Jan, and Zao Wou-Ki , while simultaneously developing a personal body of work that transcended the boundaries between East and West. Drawing on Korean calligraphic tradition and the discoveries of European lyrical abstraction , she constructed a unique visual language inspired by Paul Klee , Wassily Kandinsky , Vincent van Gogh , and Paul Cézanne .

Light is at the heart of her artistic exploration. Nicknamed "the painter of light," Bang Hai Ja considers it the origin of the cosmos and the meeting point of all life forms. Her circular and meditative compositions evoke the universe, spirituality, and the interconnectedness of all living things. Her work is rooted in a profoundly humanist approach, nourished by both Buddhist thought and Christian tradition.

The artist favors natural materials and traditional Korean techniques. She notably uses hanji , a Korean handmade paper made from plant fibers, which she crumples, shapes, and layers to create effects of relief and transparency. She also works with natural pigments, ochres from Roussillon, geotextiles, fresco, engraving, and contemporary stained glass , revealing the spiritual properties of the material itself.

His international career is marked by numerous solo and group exhibitions in France, South Korea, the United States, and several countries in Europe and Asia. In 1967, the Florence Houston-Brown Gallery in Paris held his first solo exhibition outside of Korea. In 2019, the Cernuschi Museum in Paris paid tribute to him with the exhibition "And Matter Became Light." In 2026, a major retrospective of his work was held at the Korea Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Cheongju.

In 2018, she was chosen by the French authorities to design four stained-glass windows for the Saint-Piat chapel in Chartres Cathedral , becoming the first Asian artist to work on this iconic World Heritage site. This achievement celebrates a body of work that has consistently bridged Eastern and Western aesthetic traditions.

Through his abstract paintings , installations, calligraphies, and stained glass, Bang Hai Ja constructed a profoundly spiritual universe where light becomes a universal language. His legacy remains essential in the history of contemporary Korean art , lyrical abstraction , and the artistic dialogue between Europe and Asia.