Yun Hyong Keun
On a crisp autumn afternoon in London, we found ourselves wandering down a quiet side street, the sunlight low and golden, leaves drifting along the pavement.
A tucked-away bookstore caught our eye, and inside, among the carefully stacked shelves, we discovered a book on Yun Hyong‑keun.
It’s cover was unassuming, but the pages inside opened onto a world of deep indigo and burnt umber — canvases defined by quiet presence, patience, and rhythm.
The book traces the life and work of Yun Hyong-keun, whose restrained palette and meditative compositions speak of resilience, simplicity, and an unwavering search for peace.
Each page unfolds his philosophy — one grounded in the meeting of heaven and earth, expressed through layers of paint that breathe with stillness.
As you turn the pages, you sense the depth of his silence — the weight of colour, the balance of light, and the calm born of repetition.
His paintings become landscapes of emotion and time, where abstraction feels deeply human.
In many ways, Yun’s work mirrors the essence of slowing down: an attention to what remains, what endures, and what quietly transforms.
It’s a reminder that art, much like reading, is less about arrival and more about the spaces in between — the moments of pause, the breath before movement, the stillness that invites reflection.
As we turned each page, we were struck by the way his work balances simplicity with presence, how layered surfaces carry stories of time, care, and reflection.
The book didn’t just show paintings; it offered a space to pause, to linger, to notice the subtleties often missed in the rush of daily life.
We’ve always loved discovering books in corners like this — in bookstores tucked along winding streets, or during quiet moments in cafés.
Some of our favourite spots in London for discovering books include the Serpentine Bookshop near Hyde Park, Heywood Hill in Mayfair, and Daunt Books in Marylebone.
Others are tucked inside quiet cafés, where you can linger over a cup while turning pages, letting the space and rhythm of the city outside guide your curiosity.
Many of these discoveries are now part of our lifestyle edit — a carefully curated collection of rare books on art, music, culture, food, and more.
Some are displayed for browsing in-store, others noted for sale, each one chosen to spark curiosity, invite reflection, and bring a sense of calm and inspiration into the home.
Over time, we’ve noticed that the books we return to — the ones that quietly insist on being noticed — often do more than just inform.
They carry ideas, emotions, and practices across generations.
They invite you to slow down, to hold a page longer, to trace the texture of paper or the depth of an image with your eyes.
Some invite you to follow the brushstrokes of a painter, others to wander the streets of a city through the words of a writer, or to explore the rituals of food, music, and culture from afar.
They create a rhythm of attention — a small ritual that can gently change the pace of a day.
Beyond the books themselves, it’s the moments they inspire: the pause to leaf through pages in the corner of a new cafe, and the way a story continues to shape thoughtfulness long after the page is turned.
Each becomes an opportunity to pause, to reflect, and to experience something beyond the immediate.
Discover our new and current favourites, along with rare finds, in-store and online.
A thoughtful curation of what we’re drawn to right now — books that mirror the season’s pace, our ongoing appreciation for storytelling, and the ideas we choose to carry with us.
From timeless reads to quiet reflections, each title is intentionally selected to be read, shared, and continually rediscovered.
Discover the lifestyle edit in-store and online houseofkholoud.com