Hwi Hahm

In Celebration of Insignificance, a sequence of color structures leads the eye toward the moon. While the composition initially suggests a landscape, blocks of color interrupt the sense of depth, flattening the image and returning the viewer to the work as a painting. The work considers the distance between reality and its representation, as well as the possibility that things invested with profound meaning may ultimately be insignificant. Its monumental scale heightens this contradiction, giving physical weight to the idea of insignificance itself.
The painting takes its conceptual cue from Milan Kundera’s writing on insignificance as an ever-present condition of existence. For Hahm, this idea also relates to painting: an image can evoke a world while remaining an arrangement of color and form—an idea of reality rather than reality itself. - from the press release

Image: Celebration of Insignificance, oil on canvas, 80 x 96 inches, 2026

The show is up until November 5th. Please book an appointment through the gallery website to visit the show :) @johsgallery