Works by the celebrated Korean abstract painter Wook-kyung Choi (1940–1985) are currently on view at Sharjah Biennial 15, taking place in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this edition of the biennial is presented across five cities and towns across Sharjah and its eponymous emirate and brings together over 150 artists and collectives from more than 70 countries. Titled Thinking Historically in the Present, this year’s biennial was conceived by the late Okwui Enwezor and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation.

The biennial honors the vision and cultural legacy of Enwezor, who advocated for institutional models beyond the Western framework to promote a comprehensive discourse on contemporary art. Thinking Historically in the Present showcases more than 300 works that offer insights into the artists’ reflections on their post-colonial identities. Each work engenders nuanced dialogues on a wide range of topics such as the processes of creolization and hybridization of culture, the body as a repository of memories, the restitution of museumized objects, postcolonial subjectivity, the racializing gaze, and transgenerational continuities.

In a similar vein, Wook-kyung Choi’s works highlight her cultural identity as a Korean female artist, whose unique formal language challenged the male-dominated history of modernism. Defying the established norms of the Korean avant-garde movement, her works serve as social commentary and a form of resistance against the patriarchy and racism she faced both at home and abroad.
Dating to her years in the United States from the 1960s and her subsequent return to Korea in the late 1970s, the exhibited works are characterized by dynamic forms, vibrant colors, and relentless strokes. They showcase her versatile use of hybrid mediums, as in the amorphous and abstract configurations of Untitled (1966), which Choi created with cut-out newspapers and fragments of personal correspondences. Sharjah Biennial 15 continues through June 11, 2023, and Choi's works are on view at the Sharjah Art Museum among the 19 venues across the emirate of Sharjah.