Oh Yoon 40th Anniversary · Terracotta Preservation Fundraising Exhibition
A work that held for 50 years —
now it's our turn
In 1973, a twenty-seven-year-old Oh Yoon, together with fellow artists Oh Kyung-hwan and Yoon Kwang-ju, carved a terracotta relief into the interior wall of a bank building in Guui-dong. This summer it faces demolition along with the building. Fellow artists are donating their works to carry that work into citizens' hands.
Exhibition Info
See it in person at Kwanhoon Gallery
- Dates
- Jul 26 – Aug 9, 2026
- Venue
- Kwanhoon Gallery
- Hours
- 12:00 PM – 7:30 PM
- Opening
- Opening reception: Wed, Jul 29, 2026, 4 PM
The Relief
What a laborer carved into clay
Art must be shared by many.
Discharged from the army after falling ill, the young man was working clay at a brick factory in Gyeongju. In 1973, together with fellow artists Oh Kyung-hwan and Yoon Kwang-ju, he carved a terracotta relief into the interior wall of the Commercial Bank of Korea's Guui-dong branch building — laborers leaving their mark where laborers passed every day. It is a rare record from an era when a commission on this scale was seldom entrusted to a young artist.
The Crisis
Fifty years, and August
This spring the building was sold. Unless the relief is dismantled and moved by early August, the work that endured half a century will be lost for good — in the very year of Oh Yoon's 40th anniversary. If not now, it can never be reclaimed by citizens' hands.
- This springBuilding sold
- Early AugustDismantling deadline
- 2026Oh Yoon 40th anniversary
The Family's Voice
On Behalf of the Family
For our family, it is overwhelming that my father's work, which we thought was lost forever, has resurfaced — and that more than ten thousand citizens have signed their names to protect it. On behalf of my family, I deeply thank every citizen who joined this effort. I no longer think of this mural as belonging to our family alone — it belongs to all of you.
Solidarity
Artists lift the relief
The terracotta of a departed master is upheld by today's fellow artists, through their own works. One painting becomes one piece of it.
- 1
Artists donate their works
- 2
Citizens meet the works
- 3
Proceeds become the terracotta preservation fund
Add your name to the work of moving this relief.
Go Deeper into Oh Yoon
Oh Yoon's works and stories on his 40th anniversary, and the pages where SAF carries the solidarity forward.