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Studies in the Past
Laurent Grasso
This massive painting by French artist Laurent Grasso honors two Korean masters: Yun Du-seo and Jeong Seon. But it's not copying them—it's having a conversation across four centuries.

See the three panels? Left: a figure on horseback, inspired by Yun Du-seo's self-portraits. The rider moves through time itself, contemplating existence. The style mixes Eastern empty space with Western realism—past meeting present.

Center: a brilliant sun with multiple rings—what scientists call sun dogs. This isn't just weather; it's a symbol of time where memory and hope collide.

Right: mountains inspired by Jeong Seon's landscapes, but dreamlike, crystalline. These aren't real mountains—they're landscapes of memory and imagination.

Grasso painted this knowing it would hang near the original works by these Korean masters. Imagine the conversation! The old masters painted what they saw and felt. Grasso paints how we remember and reimagine their vision.

You're standing in Haenam, where Yun Du-seo actually lived, where Jeong Seon painted these southern landscapes. This isn't just art history—it's happening right where it started.

The question becomes: When you look at the past, what do you see? A fixed story, or something alive, changing with each new pair of eyes?