Park Chan-kyong's 'Zen Master Eyeball' Explores Meaninglessness Through Painting

Park Chan-kyong's exhibition 'Zen Master Eyeball' at Kukje Gallery in Seoul presents over two dozen recent paintings and one diorama, ranging from neon-tinted realism to kitschy surrealism. The show is divided into two halves: one serene, featuring philosophers, stones, and temples; the other macabre, with large canvases segmented into sequential quasi-narratives resembling comic-strip panels or religious murals. Works like 'Futile Effort 2025.10.9 – 12.14' (2025) depict annotated rock piles, while 'Nammaetop Pagoda' (2024) shows figures gazing at pagodas. The eponymous 'Zen Master Eyeball' (2025) riffs on the Zen story of Jùzhī Yīzhǐ, depicting a young man offering his eyeball. 'Projection 1' (2025) and 'Projection 3' (2026) continue the motif, with the eyeball casting light. Park, known as a writer, filmmaker, and installation artist, uses irony to question the act of looking and meaning-making. The exhibition runs from 19 March to 10 May 2026.