Bang Hai Ja

Bang Hai Ja (born 1937) is a Korean-born abstract painter, stained-glass artist and calligrapher, who since 1961 has been based in Paris. Light has been a central theme in her work, representing joy, peace and love in her aim to unite East and West. In 2018, she was invited by the French authorities to create four windows for Chartres Cathedral.
Biography.
Born on 5 July 1937 in Seoul, Bang Hai Ja graduated in fine arts from Seoul National University in 1961 where she studied Eastern and Western Art as well as calligraphy. While at the university, she suffered from the traditional approach of the faculty but was encouraged in particular by Chang Ucchin. As a result, she progressed towards abstraction, producing her first non-figurative work in 1960. Attracted by French language and culture, especially the existentialism movement, she moved to Paris in 1961.
There she discovered an interest in Korean art as there had already been an exhibition in 1960 and Lee Ungno had just participated in an exhibition bringing together foreign artists based in Paris. Bang Hai Ja's acceptance was further facilitated by an exhibition of Asian art in 1969 and in particular by the support she received for Pierre Courthion soon after her arrival. This led to contacts with , Léon Zack and Zao Wou-Ki.
As abstract art began to lose appeal in both France and Korea in the late 1960s, when Bang Hai Ja returned to her native country in 1968 she became more interested in the qualities of materials, especially paper or hanji. She then embarked on a period during which she made wide use of natural materials, concentrating on the theme of light as a basis for providing inspiration of the soul, leading East and West to strive for peace.
In 2018, she was invited by the French authorities to design four stained-glass windows for Chartres Cathedral. An exhibition of her work was held in Paris at the Musée Cernuschi in early 2019.