ALIEN Art Centre

When form gives shape to space, rhythm gives motion to time, abstraction begins to resonate — transforming into eternity. For its 7th anniversary, ALIEN Art Centre presents The Bards of Time and Space — Ho Kan & Soonik Kwon, a landmark exhibition spanning seventy years (1955–2024). Featuring paintings, installations, and early sketches, this duo dialogue transcends generations and geographies, reawakening the spiritual core of ‘abstraction’ within the East Asian context. The exhibition unfolds through the visionary works of Ho Kan, a pioneer of Chinese geometric abstraction, and Soonik Kwon, a leading Korean contemporary abstractionist. Ho Kan’s bright color planes and geometric compositions embody a sense of order, while Soonik Kwon’s gestural brushstrokes and textured surfaces materialize the flowing essence of qi (vital energy). Together, they invite viewers to open multiple perspectives of seeing — to move from abstract form toward an inner journey of cultivation, freedom, and transcendence.

Initiated and curated by Yaman Shao, Director of ALIEN Art Centre, in collaboration with independent curator Felix Kwok, and with Belgica Rodríguez, former President and Honorary Lifetime Chair of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), and Lorena Rodríguez leading academic research, The Bards of Time and Space transforms abstraction from an art-historical category into an inner experience.

The curatorial framework unfolds along the dual axes of ‘Form’ and ‘Qi’, tracing how abstraction, liberated from historical timeframes, returns to the immediacy of bodily perception. Through each line and point, the exhibition becomes a meditative practice — an act of focusing one’s awareness on the state of being itself.

Soonik Kwon

Curator Yaman Shao notes: “Abstraction does not depart from reality; rather, it returns to a realm of spiritual harmony. In this sense, abstraction mirrors the way we see inwardly. Ho Kan and Soonik Kwon embody two key essences of contemporary Asian art — the spiritual condensation of subtraction, and the corporeal movement of addition. Together they achieve inner balance, generating continuous spiritual energy through the gradual rediscovery of the self. By defining abstraction as contemporary cultivation, this exhibition seeks to explore, through the works of both artists, a path toward the eternal — a way of transcending one’s own existence.”

Felix Kwok, Co-Curator, academic advisor at Tsinghua University Art Academy Training Center (Beijing), and founder of Artistry Strategies, previously served as Director and Head of Modern Art for Sotheby’s Asia. In 2024, he was named one of The Observer’s “Most Influential People in the Art World.” From his global perspective on Asian contemporary art, Kwok writes: “Ho Kan and Soonik Kwon represent two trajectories of East Asian abstraction — one a titan of international modernism whose career spans over seventy years, the other a mature master whose practice bridges spirituality and materiality. Ho Kan fused Chinese calligraphy, Surrealism, and geometric abstraction to forge a distinctly Chinese path, gaining recognition from major museums and institutions worldwide since the 1960s. Soonik Kwon, rooted in Buddhist philosophy, integrates personal materials and meditative methods to create deeply emotional works where form, color, and sensibility coexist. Their convergence in The Bards of Time and Space at ALIEN Art Centre demonstrates that East Asian abstraction is not merely an echo of Western modernism but a central discourse in its own right — grounded in historical continuity and charged with the vitality of the present.”

International Association Art Critics (AICA) Research Group observes: “This exhibition is not simply a juxtaposition of two important artists; it opens a new historical passageway, announcing an emerging grand narrative of Asian abstraction. Ho Kan represents how, in the 1950s, Asian modernism articulated an abstract language understandable to the world through geometry and calligraphic structure. Soonik Kwon transforms East Asian spiritual discipline, bodily labor, and present awareness into a living practice of abstraction. The Bards of Time and Space reveals the futurity of contemporary art — on one side, the ninety-year-old Ho Kan, still evolving his visual language; on the other, Soonik Kwon, at the height of his career, deepening his meditative methodology. Together, they affirm that Asian abstraction is no longer a footnote to Western modernism, but a central, self-sustaining discourse — one that fuses traditional depth with contemporary vitality, becoming a key axis that global art must now engage.”

Ho Kan(b. 1932) — renowned for his Surrealist-inflected geometric abstraction, Ho Kan’s works generate three-dimensional spatial sensations within two-dimensional compositions. His minimalist visual language reflects the philosophical essence of East Asian thought — reduction as spiritual concentration. Through short lines and circular dots, his compositions express humanity’s attunement to the cosmos and an infinite longing for the universe. His works have been widely exhibited and are held in the permanent collections of leading museums and art institutions across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Soonik Kwon (b. 1959) — viewing creation as a quiet yet resolute field of meditation, Soonik Kwon’s work departs from the austere rationality of Korea’s postwar Dansaekhwa movement by infusing his surfaces with rich, tactile materiality. His “inlaid paintings” embody the encounter of material and time, thought and perception. Drawing from Zen and Buddhist concepts of no-self (anatta), Kwon channels physical labor into an act of mindful presence. He has presented more than thirty solo exhibitions and over fifty group shows across Asia, North America, and Europe, with works held in major museum collections throughout South America and Asia.

Soonik Kwon "Interstice-Pile up & Rub (5-01)" 2025, 150.0 × 120.0 cm, Mixed media on Canvas

Art Talk: November 21, 2025 (Fri) 14:00–15:00｜3F lounge, ALIEN Art Centre

Hosted by Yaman Shao, Director of ALIEN Art Centre and Initiator & Curator of The Bards of Time and Space, together with Felix Kwok, Independent Curator, this artist talk features participating artists Ho Kan and Soonik Kwon.

Beginning with the origins and curatorial context of the exhibition, the discussion will extend to the curators’ perspectives on abstraction, exploring how artistic positioning, spirit, and philosophy intertwine. The conversation seeks to examine the contemporary relevance of “abstraction” and the profound undercurrents of Eastern thought revealed within The Bards of Time and Space.

Exhibition Information

Exhibition Title: The Bards of Time and Space — Ho Kan, Soonik Kwon br Period: 2025.11.23 (SUN) – 2026.11.01 (SUN)
Venue: ALIEN ART CENTRE

Culator: Yaman Shao, Felix Kwok
Curatorial Team: ALIEN Art Centre
Academic Research: International Association Art Critics (AICA) Research Group
Curatorial Partner: ALIEN Art, ALIEN MODE, Whitestone Gallery, CHINI Gallery
Space Coordination: Bon Maison
Visual Design: Yu-Tzu Huang
Sensory Design: Shah Pâtisserie, ALIEN ALL DAY LOUNGE
Cultural Partner: THE AMNIS, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts Special Thanks to: DBS Bank , YUIMOM Group

Official Website: www.alien.com.tw/u/zh-tw/pages/The_Bards_of_Time_and_Space
Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/ALIENArtCentre

ALIEN Art Centre

ALIEN Art enriches life through contemporary art, presenting the distinctive visions of 20th- and 21st-century artists (alien) while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across creative fields. In 2018, ALIEN Art established the ALIEN Art Centre in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, defining its curatorial identity through a dialogue between visual creation, natural environment, and architectural space. In 2025, ALIEN Art launched ALIEN MODE, a curatorial recommendation platform dedicated to building meaningful connections among art, audiences, and private collectors. ALIEN MODE promotes the archiving and international visibility of artists’ works by collaborating with museums, art institutions, galleries, and collectors to cultivate a shared cultural ecosystem. Beyond integrating art into everyday life, ALIEN MODE also explores how art can contribute to sustainability, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between culture and ecology.