Southern California’s air, light and space have inspired countless artists — James Turrell, David Hockney and Ed Ruscha to name just a few. And a new exhibit at Perrotin Los Angeles wants to show L.A. transplant Young-Il Ahn as a painter who also has something to say about the poetry of this place.
Much of the Korean American abstract painter’s work was inspired by the natural elements of Los Angeles, a city he immigrated to from Korea in 1966. The centerpiece of the 17-work career survey — on display at the Mid-City gallery until May 24 — comes from the artist’s “California” series.
“He writes about those works as trying to capture the light and bright infinity of California — where space is filled with colors, forms, sound waves from living nature. He speaks about his body vibrating with awareness,” said Jennifer King, the Perrotin’s senior director and the show’s curator.
Light and magic
Ahn was 32 when he arrived in Los Angeles. He was already a working artist and considered a kind of child prodigy in his home country. He lived here until his death in 2020. One of the artist’s most well-known series, called “Water,” was inspired by a formative experience in a motorboat in 1983, King said. Ahn was temporarily lost in a thick fog off Santa Monica.
“ He had to essentially float on the open ocean, cut the engine and just floated until the fog rolled out,” King said. “The experience of seeing the sunlight reflecting on the water was something that stayed with him for the rest of his life.”…