Installation view of 《the gradient》 © Noon Contemporary

A gradient refers to the gradual transition from one color to another—a seamless flow of hues and tones that maximizes the sensory experience of color while imparting a sense of calm. From the evening sky tinged by the setting sun to the color editing panels of digital design tools, gradients permeate our everyday visual environment. Having become a new visual language within contemporary digital media, the gradient also appears diversely in abstract painting, informed by artists such as Judy Chicago and Lee Ufan. In this context, 《the gradient》 traces how this visual concept manifests in the paintings of Nakhee Sung and Jihyung Son.

Nakhee Sung’s abstract paintings are characterized by vibrant colors and organic forms, where gradients unfold across the canvas surface so smoothly that the traces of the brushstroke seem to vanish. The irregularly combined and interwoven hues evoke a sense of organic rhythm and tension, as if the colors are pulsating and pushing against one another.

These distinctive compositions, filled with visual modulation, stem from the artist’s wide-ranging visual experiences—from the exotic hues of Saudi Arabian carpets she saw in childhood to the grid structures of social media feeds. Titles such as Sequence and Portamento—the latter meaning a sliding movement from one musical note to another—suggest the flow and movement that the artist seeks to express through color and form. Sung’s gradients, where dynamic vitality and a futuristic sensibility coexist, are at once soft and sharp.

Jihyung Son builds her surfaces through layers of diverse materials—carving and refilling them repeatedly. Through subtle gradations of color and form, she connects the pictorial world with the world beyond, unfolding an abstract event. The chromatic planes, each with unique textures, overlap as layers, while geometric shapes form depth through subtle elevation. The gradient effect arises as color and form gradually surface from beneath, as if emerging from within the canvas.

Though the structures of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines—reminiscent of stadiums or chessboards seen from above—suggest tranquility and stillness, the uneven surface textures recall the tactile qualities of nature. Works titled Thicket and Across the Veins evoke the imagination, projecting faint figures across the painted surface. Son’s gradients demarcate space and direct the viewer’s gaze; following the subtle shifts of color and texture leads to a renewed sensory encounter.

The color spectrum has no boundaries—countless hues exist between any two points. Just as the gradient inherently holds infinite variations, its expressions in painting reveal countless possibilities for modulation. In the works of Nakhee Sung and Jihyung Son, color and form shift at different speeds and rhythms, guiding the viewer’s gaze through a fluid visual flow. Here, the gradient becomes more than a transition of color—it becomes an abstract event that dissolves boundaries and expands perception.

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