Biography

Wook-kyung Choi was a prominent Korean Abstract Expressionist painter, born in Seoul in 1940. She played a significant role in bridging Korean Informel Art with the United States, a movement known for its non-geometrical abstraction. Choi pursued her education at Seoul National University before moving to the United States in 1964, where she furthered her studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Her work was heavily influenced by renowned Abstract Expressionists like Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko. Choi returned to South Korea in 1979, where she contributed to the academic field by teaching at Yeungnam University and Duksung Women's University. Her work was recognized posthumously with several exhibitions, including a retrospective at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in 1987 and solo exhibitions at the Kukje Gallery in Seoul. Choi's art has been celebrated internationally, featuring in exhibitions such as Women in Abstraction at the Centre Pompidou and Action, Gesture, Paint at the Whitechapel Gallery. Her contributions to the art world are appreciated for their bold expression and cultural significance, making her work highly sought after by collectors.