Still In The Game

Curatorial note

*APC ART is proud to present “Still in the Game,” a striking 2022 work by Korean-born, New York-based artist Yoon Hyup, whose unmistakable visual language transforms the rhythm, movement and energy of the modern city into compositions constructed almost entirely from lines and dots.* *Hyup has developed one of the more immediately recognizable visual languages to emerge from the intersection of contemporary abstraction, street culture, music and urban life. Rather than traditionally sketching his compositions before painting them, Hyup works intuitively, building images through repeated marks that function almost like notes within a piece of music. Individual lines, dots and blocks of color accumulate until recognizable cityscapes emerge from what initially appears to be pure abstraction.* *“Still in the Game” is an exceptional example of this practice. Against an expansive black ground, hundreds of brightly colored marks create a luminous city seen at night. Blues, yellows, oranges, pinks, whites and greens become illuminated windows, streets, buildings and traffic, while the enormous field of black above the horizon gives the composition an extraordinary sense of depth and atmosphere.* *At the center of the distant skyline, a slender illuminated tower rises dramatically above the surrounding architecture. Hyup reduces the city to its essential rhythm rather than attempting to reproduce it literally. From a distance, the composition reads unmistakably as a sprawling metropolis after dark; viewed closely, the city dissolves into hundreds of independent gestures of color.* *This relationship between abstraction and representation is fundamental to Hyup's work. His compositions can be experienced simultaneously as landscapes and as rhythmic arrangements of color. The influence of music—particularly jazz, hip-hop and the improvisational culture surrounding them—is deeply embedded within his process. His marks operate almost like beats: repeated, interrupted, accelerated and layered across the surface until they collectively establish a visual rhythm.* *Published in **2022**, “Still in the Game” was produced as an exceptionally accomplished **17-color, hand-pulled screenprint** on heavyweight **Lambeth Drawing Cartridge 370gsm paper**. The use of seventeen individually printed colors gives the work a richness and physicality that cannot be replicated through conventional digital printing, with each layer contributing to the density and luminosity of the finished image.* *The work is from a limited edition of only **200 examples worldwide** and is **hand signed and individually numbered by Yoon Hyup**.* *The sheet measures approximately **33.50 × 25.25 inches (85 × 64.2 cm)** with border, with the published image dimensions listed as approximately **33.46 × 25.27 inches (84.9 × 64.18 cm)**. Its substantial scale allows Hyup's intricate network of marks to be appreciated both from across a room and at close range, where the remarkable construction of the image becomes increasingly apparent.* *There is something particularly compelling about the title “Still in the Game.” The city is presented not as a static collection of buildings, but as something alive—illuminated, moving and continuously rebuilding itself. Against the darkness, every small mark becomes evidence of activity. The work carries the optimism and momentum that characterizes much of Hyup's practice: regardless of darkness or distance, the city remains illuminated and very much alive.* *Hyup's ability to communicate enormous scale using such economical individual marks is precisely what makes his work so distinctive. What appears close-up as a vocabulary of dots, dashes and geometric gestures transforms with distance into an extraordinary panoramic urban environment. It is an approach that connects the spontaneity of street art with the formal concerns of abstraction and the improvisational structure of music.* *“Still in the Game” is particularly successful because it brings all of those elements together. It is immediately recognizable as Yoon Hyup while remaining sophisticated enough to reward repeated viewing. The enormous negative space above the city creates a dramatic visual counterweight to the densely populated lower portion of the composition, allowing the illuminated metropolis to seemingly glow against the black night.* *At APC ART, we are particularly drawn to works that capture an artist's visual vocabulary at its most recognizable. “Still in the Game” accomplishes precisely that. The combination of scale, exceptionally complex 17-color screenprinting, strong architectural imagery and Hyup's signature system of rhythmic marks makes this an outstanding example of the artist's graphic practice.* *The work is offered in excellent condition and will be carefully packaged for worldwide shipment. Professional museum-quality framing options are available upon request.* *As with all works offered by APC ART, “Still in the Game” will be accompanied by an APC ART Certificate of Authenticity featuring our embossed blind stamp and complete cataloguing information.* *Please feel free to browse our selection of over 1,100 works from more than 200 of the world's most influential contemporary artists.* *APC ART offers professional art advisory services backed by decades of experience within the international contemporary art market. From private acquisitions and museum-quality framing to complete collection management, we are proud to serve collectors throughout the United States and around the world.* *APC-ART.COM* *+1 (404) 457-4491* *— APC ART* Provenance Purchased direct from the publisher upon release.  Included with the work will be a COA from APC ART, guaranteeing authenticity in perpetuity.  Condition The work will arrive brand new in original packaging.

Specifications

Artist

Yoon Hyup

Title

Still In The Game

Edition

Unique work

Signature

Unsigned

Framing

Unframed

Presented by

APC Gallery

Where this work sits

Delivery

Ask a specialist