Korean Contemporary Artists Series: Viridescent Fantasy_Lee Sookja, MMCA GWACHEON

 

 Lee Sookja, <Daybreak at Mt. Baikdu>, 2000

 Photo courtesy of MMCA

 

Period: Mar.25,2016 - Jul.17,2016

Venue: Gallery 3

Artists: Lee Sook Ja

Admission: 2,000won

Location: MMCA Gwacheon 

 

 

 Exhibition introduction

 

Viridescent Fantasy_Lee Sookja is the exhibition of Korean Contemporary Artists Series, a medium to long term project of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to contribute in formation and development of history of Korean contemporary art. It is a large-scaled retrospective exhibition illuminating a half a century works of the Korean painter, Jihyang Lee Sookja (1942~).

 

Lee was born in Seoul in 1942. She studied in Hongik University under some of the great teachers of Korean color painting during the modern era such as Chun Kyungja (1924-2015), Kim Gichang (1913-2001) and Park Saenggwang (1904-1985). After making her debut through the National Art Exhibition in 1963, she has further established herself as an artist by winning grand prizes in the National Art Exhibition and Joongang Fine Arts Prizes in 1980.

 

During the late 20th century, when the term 'Korean painting' was first introduced, Lee took it as an artist's duty to establish the concept and characteristics of the new term. 'Establishment of an identity of Korean painting' and 'securing of legitimacy of color painting' in the history of Korean art were the key words in the artistic works of Lee throughout a half a century. As a result of studies and developments in the history of art, the legitimacy of color painting now stands firmly on a stable ground. The identity of 'Korean painting,' on the other hand, is difficult to be defined since it is something that constantly changes over time. However, the vestiges of the contemporary artists' exploration of the identity will form a single identity in the future, and Lee also has dedicated herself for a half a century in formation of the identity of Korean painting through her works.

 

Lee's works can roughly be categorized into those that show Korean subject matters such as 'Folk Art,' 'Barley Field,' 'Cow,' 'Hangeul' and 'Baekdusan Mountain' and the 'Eve' series. In this exhibition, such characteristics of the subject matters were highlighted and were reflected in the organization of the exhibition. However, the impact of superficial subject matter itself on the expression of Korean identity is not quite significant. It is the objective of this exhibition for the audience to discover the true meaning of Korean identity as an 'internal symbol,' which is what Lee has been seeking for, and empathize with the artist.

 

 Lee Sookja, <Brindle Cows 1, 2>, 1987

Photo courtesy of MMCA

 

 

 

Lee Sookja, <Eve's Barley Field>, 1989

Photo courtesy of MMCA