Echoes in the Small Mountain: Park Dae-sung and the West Coast

 

Dec 11, 2025 – Jul 13, 2026

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

 

Cave of Enlightenment (detail), 2006. by Mr. Park Dae-sung (Korean, b. 1945). Ink and colors on paper. Asian Art Museum, Acquisition made possible by Dennis Marino, 2007.10. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. 

 

A never-before-seen painting inspired by the vistas of Yosemite makes its debut in this selection of works by Park Dae-sung (b. 1945), a renowned contemporary artist credited with reinventing the techniques of traditional Korean ink painting. Alongside new compositions based on California landscapes, the exhibition features three epically scaled paintings gifted to the museum collection two decades ago, shown together here for the first time.

 

 

Installation view of Echoes in the Small Mountain: Park Dae-sung and the West Coast, Winter 2025-26. photo by Kevin Candland

 

Instead of a photographic likeness, Park’s work conveys the powerful feeling of experiencing a monumental landscape, using energetic brushwork and inventive visual strategies to express the emotions stirred by nature’s grandeur. A painting of Korea’s Diamond Mountains compresses the mountain range into a single awe-inspiring rocky mass, creating what exhibition curator Yoon-Jee Choi calls “a panoramic mind-picture.”

 

Park (pen name Sosan 소산, “Small Mountain”) has traveled throughout his homeland since the 1970s to paint or sketch famed places in person; this exhibition’s Yosemite (2025) has the distinction of being his first painting depicting a landform outside of Korea.

 

 

 

Artist Talk with Park Dae-sung 

 

Thursday, January 29, 4:30 PM

@Samsung Hall

 

The exhibition Echoes in the Small Mountain features works by renowned contemporary artist Park Dae-sung, widely credited with reinventing the techniques of traditional Korean ink painting.

 

Reserve Tickets

 

Join Artist Park Dae-sung and Exhibition Curator Yoon-Jee Choi for a talk focused on Park’s artistic journey, examining the life experiences that have shaped his creative vision and offering insight into who he is as an individual.

 

Members and supporters of the museum receive access to advance registration and visit for free all year long! Questions about joining or attending this event? Contact us at members@asianart.org today.

 

Note: As you plan your visit on Jan 29, please note that Tateuchi Gallery will be temporarily closed at 2 to 4 PM. 

https://calendar.asianart.org/event/artist-talk-with-park-dae-sung