Painting That Flows Like Jazz

At Sueno 339, a contemporary art space nestled in Jongno, Seoul, artist Yoon Sangyoon presents his latest solo exhibition,

“Like Jazz, Opening the Gap”, featuring a series of expressive, intuitive paintings—all created using only his left hand.

Opening the Gap — The Left Hand’s Intuition

For Yoon, painting with his left hand is more than a technical experiment— it’s a deliberate departure from habitual control.

He likens it to jazz: spontaneous, unpredictable, full of syncopation and freedom.

“I wanted to paint the moment where the gap begins to move.”

This “gap,” as he calls it, emerges between binaries: center and margin, collective and individual, rule and freedom. It’s a space of tension, but also one of possibility—where new rhythms and forms take root.

The Canvas Is Not Still — It Moves

Yoon’s figures float in undefined, almost cinematic spaces.

Bicycle wheels spin. Campfires flicker. But no backstory is given.

These anonymous presences are not there to be explained, but simply to exist.

His brushstrokes are bold yet instinctive— shaped by feeling rather than form, by movement rather than completion.

Two Hands, Two Worlds

Yoon Sangyoon is renowned for creating with both hands—

almost as if two artists reside in one body.

His right-hand paintings are methodical and structured, inspired by Freud’s model of the id, ego, and superego, and executed using meticulous glazing techniques that layer black and white with color.

His left-hand works, like those in this show, embrace spontaneity, emotion, and intuition—rendered with impasto and automatic drawing in a raw, expressive rhythm.

Each hand builds a different universe. And here, we’re invited into the wild side.

About the Artist – Yoon Sangyoon

Birth:

b. 1978, resides in Paju

Education:

2009 Chelsea College of Art & Design, MA / Fine Art, London UK

2007 Chelsea College of Art & Design, Postgraduate Diploma / Fine Art, London UK

2004 Chu-Gye University of the Fine Art, BA (Hons) / Fine Art, Seoul Korea

Awards:

2012 1st Prize Winner, Chong Kun Dang Artist Award

2019 Grand Prize Winner, HOBAN Foundation Young Artist Award

Solo Exhibition:

2012 The subculture, 표 갤러리, 서울

2009 The body marks on territory, 텔레비전 12, 서울

Main Group Exhibition:

2012 You were, you are, 갤러리 조선, 서울

2012 YM, WCA , 갤러리 이마주, 서울

2011 리-레프레젠테이션, 텔레비전12, 서울

2011 회화의수집, 닥터박 갤러리, 양평

2011 Between Techne and metaphor, 아트스페이스 휴, 파주

2011 Pity on utopia, 아트스페이스 루, 서울

2011 All of my hopes, 표 갤러리, 서울

2011 Group show’ GYM 프로젝트, 서울

2010 서교난장, 상상마당, 서울

2010 별 컬렉션 나우, 신사아트타워

2010 Into the wild, 인터알리아

2010 Far out East, 10 바이너스트릿 갤러리, 런던, 영국

2010 Supporting emerging art, 머머아트 갤러리, 런던, 영국

2010 Sasapari 4482, 바지하우스 옥소타워, 런던, 영국

2010 오픈웨스트 공모전, 글로스터대학주최, 섬머필드갤러리, 첼트넘, 영국

2010 Ways of see, 아이뮤 프로젝트, 런던, 영국

2009 Supervision, 영국아트협회 공모전, 런던 한국문화원, 런던, 영국

2009 De-Familiarization, 놀리아스 갤러리, 런던, 영국

2008 38th parallel, G스폿, 홀란드파크, 런던, 영국

2008 4482, 바지하우스 옥소타워, 런던, 영국

2007 Christmas 2007 show, 살롱 갤러리, 영국

2007 In harmony’ Korean contemporary Art, 아트대포트 갤러리, 런던, 영국

Residency:

2011 Resident Artist, 5th Nanji Residency Program, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul

2012 Resident Artist, HUE+Network Creative Studio, Paju

Participated in exhibitions both in Korea and abroad, including Seoul, Hong Kong, and London

Took part in artist residencies such as Nanji Residency (Seoul Museum of Art) and HUE+Network Creative Studio

Exhibition Information

Title: Like Jazz, Opening the Gap

Artist: Yoon Sangyoon

Venue: Sueno 339 (5-gil 22, Pirundae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul)

Dates: June 19 – July 17, 2025

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 – 18:00 (Closed on Mondays)

Admission: Free

Works on View: Recent left-hand paintings

Like Jazz, Like Life

Life often unfolds like jazz. Offbeat, imperfect, unpredictable—and beautiful in its own rhythm. Yoon Sangyoon’s paintings capture those moments of in-between, those overlooked pauses between certainty and surprise. A space for freedom. A space for resonance.

Step into the gap before it closes.

The exhibition runs through July 17.

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